Essence of Shinji
by KrisRemmell
Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. SxA
1. Lunch Time

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language and some violence)

A/N: Firstly I am a graphic artist. I wrote this story to hopefully illustrate into a manga for my art web site. I posted this story once before in a script format. That was my mistake. In my infinite stupidity I thought they were talking about a different kind of script. I'm hoping to try and improve my writing skills. See my profile for a link to my web site.

I am also writing another longer story that follows the mood of the series.

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**Chapter 1: Lunch Time**

It's a warm summer day at the 1st Munipal Jr. High School of Tokyo-3. It's also a boring day filled with algebra and long, droning recounts of events before, during, and after the almost fabled and tragic 'Second Impact'. The Second Impact was a catastrophic global event that struck on Spetember of 2000. The cause was named as a meteor that struck Antartica with such force that most of the continent melted. The water caused massive tidal waves all over the world and killing over two billion. Another billion died in the aftermath. Only those in the goverment organization NERV know the true cause was a powerful creature called, Adam, the first Angel.

The sun beams with a warm glow over all who have come outside to enjoy their lunches. Girls gather in their flocks to gossip and giggle, boys herd to laugh and joke, and young couples look for nice seats in the shade to be alone together.

High above all this activity on the roof of the school a small eccentric group gathers on the roof of the school. Asuka and Hikari sit in a small group of two. Shinji, Kensuke, and Touji sit in another. Rei sits by herself somewhere in the middle. Her quiet disposition would allow her to go unnoticed by anyone if it wasn't for her light blue hair and still, crimson eyes. None of them are too far away from each other. A conversation could easily take place between the whole if a topic presented itself.

"Oh, I am starved!" says the fiery, German Asuka Langely Soryu. Her long, golden-red hair seems to glow in the sun. Blue eyes match the sky. She opens her bento box. "What!" Asuka vents. Her excited expression quickly turns to disappointment. She glares over to the target of this frustration. A meek, brown haired boy. He laughs with his friends. No idea mentally Asuka has marked him. "Shinji, damn it! It's your turn to cook our lunches this week. What is this stuff? Peanut butter and jelly. Sausage octopus!". Asuka yells at Shinji Ikari, who is a short distance away. Shinji looks apologetic, and Touji looks to Hikari, the class representative, with praise.

"Hey, Class Rep. Thanks, everything tastes great." says a grateful Touji Suzuhara to Hikari, and cutting off Asuka. Hikari has been making Touji bento lunches. Disguised as a sheer act of convenience to prevent food from going to waist. In reality it's Hikari's expression of her crush over the crass, but kind hearted jock. She is a sweet, innocent, and freckled girl, but can be overbearing when it comes to the rules. Her uniform kept in perfect order. Her medium length brown hair is held in loose pigtails.

Touji has the appearance of a dark haired 'tough guy'. He is the only boy who doesn't dress in the uniform of white shirt and black slacks. He instead chooses to where a dark, relaxed athletic suit.

Hikari blushes softly saying, "Your welcome.".

The detached, blue haired Rei eats silently. She sits still and oblivious to the rush of teenage hormones surrounding her. Kensuke Aida takes large mouthfuls of his burger. He has freckles, sandy hair, and glasses. His deep obsession is for all things war, and filming anything with his trusty digital camera. No matter how mundane it may be.

"I'm sorry." says Shinji. "With making dinner and school work I didn't have time to make anything fancy." This verbal bashing from Asuka really comes as no great surprise. It has pretty much becomes a daily routine for Shinji. The topic may be new, but the treatment is the same.

Touji looking disgusted with Asuka and Shinji. Asuka for verbally abusing his friend, and Shinji for always putting up with it. Touji at times believes that Shinji must be housebroken from being so naturally accommodating and living with Asuka under the care of their guardian, Major Misato Katsuragi.

Frustrated with Shinji's explanation Asuka sits back "I can't believe the stuff I have to put up with." Asuka takes a bite of the sandwich. The flavor hits her and she looks surprised.

Hikari notices the calm confusion on her friend. "Is something wrong, Asuka?"

Asuka leans in, put up her hand to shield her talking mouth from view, and whispers, "I don't get it. Shinji can be the biggest dork, but somehow can make a simple PB&J taste so good." Curiosity gets the best of her. She looks to Shinji. He's chuckling as Touji seems to chastise him for not standing up to Asuka more. She uses her sweetest tone to address Shinji. "Shinji? So what did you put in this food?"

"Sorry Asuka. It's a trade secret." says Shinji smiling. The talk he's been having with Touji seems to of had some effect on his confidence. Touji laughing to himself as Asuka pouts.

"Meanie." says Asuka. Crushed her charms have failed, and a blow to her pride. Nothing is as annoying as a desired secret being kept from you. Frustration soon changes to confusion as she hears Hikari starts to giggle softly to herself. Curiosity has claimed Asuka attention again, and she looks to her best friend. "And what are you all giggly about?"

Hikari seems reluctant to share her thoughts. "Well. What if - the secret ingredient Shinji put in - was - LOVE?" She blushes looking to Asuka for her friends reaction to her theory.

The thought scatters through Asuka's brain. She blushes innocently for a second, realizing Hikari is watching she changes her emotions, and jaw drops. "Hikari! How could that stupid idiot know anything about love? What a laugh." Asuka raves defensively. Shinji looks on silently as Asuka rants hearing every word. Rei just eats unfazed by the outburst. It's none of her concern nor is that surprising. "That's it!" says Asuka standing dramatically, pigtails blowing in the wind, and points her finger to Shinji. "Shinji, next week I'm cooking lunch! I'm gonna show you how it should be done." This dramatic proclamation even catches the attentions of Rei.

Shinji looks to his agitated friend, and room mate thinking, "_It's your turn any ways_?"

Asuka sits huffing. She continues to eat her modest, but well prepared meal. Her pride would probably encourage her not to finish if she wasn't so hungry. She is that stubborn. Hikari tingles all over with excitement as she looks to Asuka and says, "Asuka, you're going to cook? Want some help? I know some great recipes."

Asuka smiles for the kind offer, but says with confidence. "Thanks Hikari, but no thanks. I'm gonna show that loser how it should be done all by myself." She waves her pointing finger to Shinji.

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Several days and a few more lunch times pass. The meals Shinji prepares over the rest of the school week range from a variety of humble meals. Each have an enjoyable flavor. This however is almost like some sort of bizarre torture for Asuka. Shinji still refuses to give away the secret to his skill in cooking. His friends have been making it a daily ritual to remind him to keep his formula to himself. They don't tell Shinji that this is not for his sake, but for their own entertainment watching Asuka's blood pressure climb from being denied. Pride gets the best of her, and she stops asking after the third day. Though the question still remains bouncing around in her head. In her free time she flips through magazines. Clipping and scanning recipes she finds. She is confused as she reads through the instructions, but confident none the less. In her mind if that idiot Shinji can pull this off it should be nothing for her.

In an apartment complex on the outskirts of Tokyo-3 sits Misato Kaysuragi. Misato is watching tv in her apartment and surrounded by several empty beer cans. Her pet Pen-Pen, the warm water penguin, sits by her side. Misato is a stunning, beautiful woman in her late twenties with long, dark purple hair. She is energetic and has a strong work ethic as the head tactician for NERV, the only organization in the world that was designed specifically to defend against the Angels. Her conduct at work is in sharp contrast to her home life. Her place would be a total mess on it's best day if Shinji didn't clean up after her. She has quickly become his surrogate family. Shinji sits at the table close by. He looks from his laptop to his reference guides as he does his school work.

The Sunday before the new school week has come and as night falls Asuka busies herself in the kitchen. A large racket of bashing pots, buzzing kitchen tools, chopping knives, and a slue of German curses can be heard.

Hearing the clamor Misato leans looking into the kitchen and calls out, "Asuka what are you doing in there?"

Asuka simply replies, "Cooking.".

Silently scoffing Misato thinks to herself, _"Sound more like she's tearing the place apart."_. She doesn't have the guts to say this out loud. She's far too smart to go ticking off an emotional girl who is surrounded by sharp cutlery. It's also a bit hard for Misato to blame Asuka though. Her attempts at the culinary arts have sounded about the same.

Shinji looks up from his studies and to the kitchen, "Asuka, do you need a hand with-".

"No you don't!" Asuka says quickly cutting Shinji off. "You stay out of here, Dommkopf! I'm not going to let you show me up!" A kitchen object is tossed at Shinji, barely missing his head. He looks to the object after it has landed. It was just a spatula. Shinji is just glad it wasn't a rolling pin or a hot skillet. Those probably weren't in arms reach at the time.

Misato looks from Shinji, to the booming kitchen, and back to Shinji. "What's up with her?".

Feeling crestfallen Shinji exhales as he goes back to his school work, shrugs his shoulders, and says simply, "No idea.". Misato chuckles and she goes back to her program.

Asuka stands in the kitchen. Bowls are filled with mixtures of things and the counters are a mess. She is wearing an apron and hair pulled back in a scarf for protection. Asuka looks at her work and worries. Her desire to do a good job nags at her. She is suddenly hit with a brain storm. She glances to her side with a devilish grin. Looking at the back of Shinji's head her plan is set. He has no idea what she has planned for him. He's gonna get a great meal and love it even if she has to make him.

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It's Monday at the 1st Munipal Jr. High School. Lunch time bells ring and the students exit with their meals. Everyone goes about their rituals of separating into their normal cliques. It's a warm summer day almost exactly like the Monday before. The only exception is the delicate breeze. Much like lunch time the week before the kids sit in the same groups. Asuka had left the house when Shinji woke this morning, but met up with her on the way to school. She refused to give Shinji his bento box until he got to school. She forbid him to peak on threat of bodily harm. Shinji sits and opens the boxed lunch with perfectly prepared food. It is well filled with smoked salmon sushi, sesame seed balls, a stick of kushi dango for dessert, and other things. He is looking happy and very impressed.

Asuka stands by Shinji looking rather proud of herself. Sitting Shinji looks up to her. Surprised she would go through so much trouble and work for him "This looks great, Asuka." he says. Kensuke looks disappointed from Shinji's food to his vending machine hot dog, fries, and chips. Touji wouldn't want anything else then what he is already eating. He is completely happy with Hikari's cooking. Any ways he wouldn't touch anything Asuka would cook out of fear of it being laced with some form of poison.

With her hands on her hips Asuka says, "Well, was there ever any doubt?"

Looking to Asuka Touji and Kensuke think in unison, "_Yes._".

Rei sits quietly eating her meal. Oblivious to the drama that always seems to surround her.

Asuka goes back to her seat next to Hikari, opens her bento box, and glances over to Shinji for his reaction to the first bite. Nervous anticipation tingles in her gut. Shinji digs into the food. He takes a bite and smiles. "It tastes really good too." says Shinji. "You did a great job, Asuka." Shinji looks over to Asuka. Expecting a grateful smile he instead sees something different. She is sticking her tongue out at him. Asuka goes back to talking with Hikari and doesn't speak to Shinji for the rest of lunch time. She feels avenged.

Rei eats silently.

The rest of the meal time is fairly uneventful. Nothing out of the norm until yelling can be heard from the school grounds below. Looking down the friends on the roof see a tall boy running from a much shorter girl. The girl chases after him screaming and tossing food. Later in the day Kensuke found out the boy is a member of the baseball team. Seems he was cheating on his girlfriend with two girls at the same time. Only reason he was caught was, because he bought all three girls the same charm, claiming it to be some rare family heirloom. The two girls confronted him during lunch and spilled the beans to his girlfriend using the charms as proof. While everyone was watching the chase on the ground. Rei took that time to finish her meal and walk back to class. Kensuke however had pulled out his camcorder and filmed the whole thing.

The school day ended. Everyone was talking and laughing about the events during lunch. The guilty boy ran out of the building on the bell. It was rather funny seeing as all three of his pursuers were half his size. Asuka just went on a rant to Hikari about how all men were pigs. With one very special exception. Anyone who knew Asuka well enough also knew she was talking about Ryoji Kaji, Misato's ex-boyfriend from college. Currently, he was also an employee at NERV.

Asuka, Hikari, Shinji, Touji, Kensuke, and Rei are walking home on the sidewalks. Asuka and Hikari are a few feet ahead, behind them is Rei, and past her is Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke. Pretty much the same groups and distances that they sit in during lunch. Asuka gossiped with Hikari, and Touji whispered to Kensuke and Shinji about how that baseball player made his mistakes. He also went into detail as to how they could do the same thing, but not get caught. Touji had to whisper in fear Asuka and Hikari would hear. Hikari Horaki is a sweet and moral girl, but she could also be venomous if given cause. This only seemed to of gotten worse when she became friends with Asuka. Kensuke was the only one who was intently listening to Touji's tips. Shinji thought it was pointless. He didn't understand why you would want to go around with other girls if you already had a girlfriend.

"So, Asuka." says Hikari. "Want to go to the new arcade after school tomorrow? Kodama went over the weekend with her boyfriend. She said there are a lot of really fun games." Kodama is one of Hikari's two older sisters.

"Nah." replies Asuka. "I promised Misato we would stay home and rent movies and it's my turn to pick." A sudden idea comes to her. "Want to join us?"

"Sure that sounds like fun. So what kind of movies are you going to pick? Should I bring anything?" says Hikari.

"You don't have to bring anything. If we need something we'll just send Ikari to fetch it." says Asuka pointing her thumb back to Shinji.Shinji looks to Asuka upset for her referring to him as if he was some kind of trained dog, but stays silent. A slip of paper falls from Asuka's bag. It drops on the ground and Kensuke picks it up. He was about to call after her to return the paper when the contents caught his eye. Touji leaned in to see what had his friends interest. They both have matching smiles as get the same devious idea.

"So, Kensuke." says Touji. "That was some lunch that Asuka pulled off."

"Yeah, real pro stuff." says Kensuke.

Asuka is walking looking rather pleased with herself. Her nose pointing a few degrees higher then normal. She is pretending not to hear even thought they are speaking louder then usual. Hikari is curious as to what they are doing as well, but follows Asuka example to appear to not to notice. Rei is walking quietly. She hears them, but has no care for their conversation. Shinji is walking a few steps ahead of his friends. He just looks to them wondering why they are talking louder.

"What do you think something like that would cost in a store?" asks Touji.

"Oh, I don't know." Kensuke gives a long pause feigning deep thought and replies, "Maybe about 1560 yen."

Asuka stops in her tracks as if an invisible brick wall has just jumped in front of her. "_1560 yen_" she thinks to herself. Asuka opens her school bag and starts frantically digging through. Pencils, gum, and erasers fall and hit the ground as she dredges through the books and notepads. She is unable to find whatever she was looking for. Glancing up she sees Kensuke holding the receipt. They both look like they are about to laugh.

Her hot blood flowing Asuka storm on them, grabs the receipt, and knocking them out with her school bag. Striking them about the head several times and off their feet. Even Rei has stopped walking to watch, but seems to show no real interest. Hikari gasps as she watches her friend's attack. Shinji wants to protest and defend his friends, but too afraid he would just end up taking their place.

With all her anger released Asuka upset looks to Shinji to see his reaction. Seeing if he too was part of this joke. Shinji has no reaction to what has happened. Leaning slightly backward. Prepared to make a run if he happens to be the next victim.

Asuka sees Shinji is oblivious to what is going on. "Vollidiot!" she yells passing Shinji. Asuka grunts in annoyance and storms off quickly.

Hikari glances to the injured Touji. She realized what had happened once she saw the reciept, and thinks in a small way he kind of deserved it. She looks to Shinji for a second, then chases after her friend who is already a hundred feet away. "Hey Asuka wait up!"

Kensuke and Touji are out cold. Shinji just stands looking at the aftermath of Asuka's assault and completely confused. "Uh, What just happened?" Shinji ask himself out loud.

Rei just walks back on her path as if nothing has happened.

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To Be Continued...  
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	2. Movie Night

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language and some violence)

A/N: I never really planned on continuing this story. It was just a test of my writing. It's the first story I ever wrote. I was getting some surprising feedback. People seemed to think I could continue it. They thought I had the skill. I wasn't so sure. I thought I wrote myself in a hole. I saw this as a challenge. Over coming a challenge is fun. I really want to hear your thoughts on this new chapter.

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**Chapter 2: Movie Night**

The breeze of the day turns to a more prominent chill at night without the sun. The street lights have been on for a few hours, and families of Tokyo-3 have sat down to their dinners. The Katsuragi apartment isn't very used to anything one would define as 'normal', but we all have to eat. Misato Katsuragi sits with her beers eating from the bowel, sitting next to her is Shinji Ikari, and across the table is Asuka Soryu. Asuka is the only one who refuses to eat with chopsticks instead opting for a spork.

The meal goes by silently. Misato catches Asuka shooting Shinji short looks and just shaking her head in disbelief. Looking to Shinji he is totally unaware. Who would think that such silence could be more annoying then nails on a chalk board? 

Her womanly instinct tells her something happened at school today, but no way she could get a straight answer with both of them in the same room. If you want a colorful story you ask Asuka. Want the boring truth go to Shinji. The topic of work is way off. Especially after what Kaji pulled in her office. Tapping her foot in frustration. "_I hope his cheek is still red, the jerk."_ Misato thinks. Misato looks down to her bowl and it comes to her.

"This tastes really good. What's in this, Shinji?" asks Misato.

Shinji looks up from his bowl. He is caught off guard from this sudden break in silence, and with a shy smile he says, "It's just garlic pork ramen. Pork, green onions. I did use fresh ginger instead of the freeze dried."

Misato looks to Asuka. "What do you think, Asuka?"

Asuka glances up from her bowl having been quiet the whole meal. Still fuming from the events during the walk home. "Yeah. It tastes alright..., Jerk." she says.

"What did I do?" says Shinji.

"Oh, you KNOW." Asuka growled shooting him a scary look.

"_Well at least it's not quiet."_ thinks Misato as she silently laughs and sipping her beer. She sits back and watches them bicker as if it was some sort of live dinner theater. Shinji is honestly confused, but Asuka's pride tells her if he's too stupid to figure it out then she wont tell him.

The room goes silent with a scared, confused Shinji and a fuming Asuka. Misato's plan to get them talking seems to of backfired and now they seem to want to talk even less.

Misato looks back on how Shinji has grown since she first met him. So shy. He'd do pretty much anything if asked. Asuka may be a bit of a headache at times, but she challenges him. He is so much fun to tease, and watch him go all red faced and nervous.

"So Asuka, tomorrow's movie night. You decided on the movie?" says Misato.

"Yeah!" Asuka perks up. "I was thinking that old romance movie Magic Number 7."

"Ohhh, I loved that movie back in college." Misato glows as she flashes back on memories of dragging a reluctant Kaji to such a sappy romance. Shinji sits in quiet worry about having to sit through something so down right 'girlie'.

Asuka looks to Shinji's face. "You better that hide disgusted look, Stupid."

"Sorry. It's just… why that movie?" he says.

"You have no right to complain. I had to sit through that retarded kung fu flick you picked last week, and I didn't complain." says Asuka. Truth is Asuka enjoyed the wild action. Part of the reason she picked such a corny movie is she knew it would make timid Shinji uncomfortable. She could enjoy the film and watch Shinji squirm all night.

"Oh Misato, I invited Hikari to join us." says Asuka.

Misato looks up from her meal. "What? Asuka, you know this is something for just the three of us." she says.

"I know, but I had to. Hikari wanted me to go with her to the arcade tomorrow. I had to turn her down, because of this. I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I invited her" replies Asuka and pouts. Misato huffs and looks to Shinji. "Well, since Asuka invited someone why don't you invite Suzuhara and Aida. I'll also see if Rei is interested."

"NO!" shouts Asuka. "Not the Stooges and Wondergirl! They'll ruin everything."

"Asuka you invited someone so it's only fair." says Misato pointing at Asuka with her chopsticks.

"I don't-" Asuka's protest is cut off by the phone. "Oh that might be Hikari." Asuka steps from the table, picks up her ramen bowl, and as she passes Shinji she flicks him across the head. Giggling she almost skips with each step. "Guten Tag." she says into the phone in a sweet tone. "Ah, Hikari! I was just talking about tomorr-" The rest of the conversation is cut as Asuka walks the phone into her room and closes the door.

Shinji rubs his temple. "_Why does she do that?"_ he thinks.

Misato watches Asuka disappear behind her door. _"For someone who thought the food was just 'alright' she sure didn't want to leave it behind."_ she thinks. She looks to Shinji and smiles. Now that Asuka is gone it's time to start spying. "Sooo. Anything interesting happen at school today?" she asks.

"Not much." Shinji says shrugging his shoulders. He takes a few bites of his cooking a topic does come to mind... until. "There was this thing in the courtyard during lunch. One of the baseball players was caught cheating on his girlfriend."

"Oh, what happened?" she asked.

"She chased him around throwing food at him." he says smiling. Despite the obvious reasons Shinji knew the guy was a jerk. Girls were only after him, because he was a jock and looks like a teen idol. "Touji was pretty jealous. Dating so many girls. I think it's stupid." Misato just sits quietly and lets Shinji express his thoughts. It's rare he will go on about a topic. "Why would you want to go around with some other girl if you already had a girlfriend?"

Misato rest her cheek in her hand and gives him a glowing smile. Looking at Shinji as if he was some cute puppy. "You are sooooo cute." she says. "Some girl is going to be so lucky to catch you." Misato is already a little drunk. She reaches out and rubs his head. Petting him like a good puppy. Shinji blushes and glows like a boiled lobster. "Even cuter blushing." she says.

"Stop teasing." he says with a groan.

Asuka peaks her head suddenly out the door and still holding the phone to her ear. "Misato." she says. "Hikari's parents say, because it's a school night she can't come over unless she spends the night.

"That's alright." Misato says smiling.

"Ahhh!" Asuka squeals into the phone. "Schlaf Uber!" Asuka pauses for a second. Rolling her eyes from a question she says, "Sleep over, Hikari.". The rest of the conversation can't be heard as she closes the door and walks further into her room.

Misato and Shinji chat and finish their meals. Misato had to lead most of the conversation and try to pry more then a three word answer out of him. About this time Asuka walks out of her room quietly and places the phone back on the receiver. Shinji starts to stand and reaching for the bowls, but Misato grabs for his shoulder and eases him back down. "I'll get the dishes tonight." she says.

"Can I help?" he asks. Misato stands and staggers a bit as she gathers up the dishes. She gives Shinji a playful little kiss on the cheek and a wink. Misato gathers all the dishes and takes them into the kitchen. Shinji can hear the water running in his now glowing red ears. He holds his cheek where she kissed him and looks up to see Asuka. She's just standing there. Her expression is unreadable. _"Why is she just looking right at me like that? What did I do?"_ He feels a chill pass through his spine. Like he is in the quiet before a powerful hurricane. Asuka calm mouth turns to a wicked grin. Walking around the table toward Shinji with purpose. She grabs Shinji by the ear and starts to pull him to the TV part of the room. "Come on, lets play a video game." she says. "I need a victim."

Misato finished with her dishes for the most part. She hears yelling and cheers coming from the apartment. Walking out she holds out her arm to steady herself against the wall. She watches the kids play one of Asuka's fighting games. With ever victory over Shinji Asuka chants and takes joy in rubbing it in his face. Misato just shakes her head and walks into her room. Her head is pounding. She removes her tank top to change for bed, but just passes out over the covers in just shorts and socks. The sounds of Asuka victories are her lull-a-bye. "_Family"_.

The games last for about an hour. Up to the round when Shinji finally defeated Asuka. Giving Shinji a nasty look she shut the game off. She said she was tired. "Better get to bed, Idiot." she said closing her bedroom door behind her. Shinji goes to his room, changes clothes, and lays down for sleep.

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The next morning was much warmer then yesterday. The warm summer day had no cooling breeze. The huge metal city of Tokyo-3 just reflected the heat and the sun. Asuka made no attempt to hide her lunch was store bought this time. Shinji and Asuka on the walk to school stopped in front of the store. She made him wait outside. A few minutes later Asuka walked out. "Here." she said shortly shoving the boxed lunch into Shinji's chest. "Thanks." he said. She then promptly tore the receipt into little shreds and dropped the remains in the trash. She refused to speak for the rest of the walk to school. Asuka's mood changed when they finally met up with Hikari a few blocks from school. Shinji walked a few steps behind as Asuka and Hikari giggled about the fun they could have tonight. Shinji looked up and down the streets as they passed. Usually by this time they would meet up with Rei. Either she was already at school or she wasn't coming. He wanted to ask her to join this impromptu party. Odds say she would refuse, but he'd like to try. He didn't feel like asking Touji and Kensuke would be that hard of a sell if Misato was involved.

Later in the school day.

"Wow! A movie night at Misato's place?" said Touji with great joy. Kensuke was too busy glowing with the possibility of spending the whole night lusting over the lovely Misato.

"Yeah Misato wanted me to invite you." said Shinji. "Judging the way Asuka was talking earlier they are going to treat it like some sort of slumber party." Shinji is suddenly drawn by his friends sudden and choking gasp.

"SLUMBER PARTY!" Touji yelled. A scary smile crosses over Touji's face and Kensuke just stands by crossing his fingers. Touji leans in to Shinji and whispers just loud enough for him and Kensuke to hear. "You mean Misato is going to be walking around the place in just some pajamas?"

Shinji is a little confused about how gung ho his friends are. "I-I don't think so. Usually when it's this hot she sleeps in tank top and shorts." Shinji says as a matter of fact.

Some of the class was in a panic when Kensuke and Touji suddenly fell to the ground tripping over their feet. Didn't seem like they were hurt. They both had matching grins that couldn't hide the vision of Misato walking about the apartment in a small top and tight, hugging shorts swimming in their minds.

Kensuke finally came back down from his silent fantasy. "What's the movie? Who's picking it?" asked Kensuke readjusting his fogged classes.

"It's Asuka's turn." answers Shinji. "She said last night it was called Magic Number 7." Kensuke and Touji loose all expression in their face and stand silent.

"You mean that crappy romance movie?" says Kensuke. Touji looks like he just ate something foul. Kensuke looked like he was almost in tears. A life long dream crushed before his eyes.

"Yeah." said a hopeless Shinji.

Upon these words Touji and Kensuke looked to each other in silent agreement. "Pass!" they say together and walk back to their desks. No guy would willingly sit through that movie if he can get out of it. Shinji isn't thrilled either with the idea about the movie. He almost wishes they would take him with them. "_Maybe I could stay with one of them tonight?"_ he thinks. "_No. Misato wouldn't like it. She really likes these get together that aren't involving life or death battles with Angels"_ Shinji looks over and sees Asuka smiling to herself in victory. She didn't want the other Stooges to show up and from the look on her face she heard them back out.

The group sat up again on the roof for lunch. Asuka and Hikari sat in the shade this time. Asuka was careful to place her book bag and other items so they would take up the rest of the shaded area. The boys sat together near the railing. Asuka would glare at them if she ever heard the boys chuckle. She thought they were laughing about her foiled plot with the bento boxes. They wouldn't dare though. The pain from Asuka's assault was still fresh in their minds. Most of the talking was done by Asuka and Hikari. The boys quickly finished their lunches and went back inside to get out of the heat.

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Later that Same Day

Asuka frantically ran around the apartment picking up empty beer cans and junk food wrappers. Pen-Pen was no where to be seen. If he was smart he was hiding. On the walk home Asuka even talked Shinji into cooking their lunches the next day. She reasons she would be too busy with Hikari over. "Shinji, get out here you idiot!" Asuka yelled. "Come help me clean up. Hikari will be here in another hour."

"You invited her. Why do I need to do all the work?" Shinji says.

"Listen. Do you want her to come over and think we're slobs, because Misato is?" she says. "It's embarrassing. Arrrg! Where is Misato? It's her turn to cook tonight!"

Asuka was almost a complete nightmare till Hikari knocked on the door. Shinji was told to answer the door while Asuka finished vacuuming. Hikari bowed. Her arms were filled with an overnight bag, school uniform, pillow, sleeping bag, and her bento box. Shinji made room to let her through the door. "Dummkopf!" Asuka yelled at Shinji. "Are you blind? Be a gentleman and help her with some of that stuff." He was quick to respond and took several items from Hikari's arms. He thought Asuka was walking up to help when she started to remove objects from Hikari, but she just piled it all in Shinji's arms. With Hikari's arms free she hugged her friend. "Shinji take that stuff into my room." ordered Asuka.

Shinji dropped the items by Asuka's bed. He was almost never in here. It smelled sweet and clean. Something was familiar and calming. Shinji did notice something odd as he looked around. This is a girls room, but there were no dolls or family picture. Made him think of his own family. He has no pictures of his mother. His father got rid of everything. "You're going through my drawers aren't you, pervert!" he hears Asuka shout. Upset by the accusation he shouts back, "I am not.". He laid Hikari's school uniform gently on the soft sheets and walked out.

Misato came home another hour later with two six packs and a couple bags of fast food, fries and a variety of burgers. Asuka and Hikari were playing video games. Shinji was sitting on the floor listening to his SDAT player. Pen-Pen had reappeared and was sitting next to Hikari. "Sorry guys work kept me late." Misato said. "Oh, hi Hikari." Misato put the bags down on the kitchen table and walked to the kitchen to put her beer in the fridge. "I saw Rei at HQ. She wont be coming. She has test to do with Ritsuko that should last most of the night. Probably wont be in school tomorrow either."

They all sat down to eat. Hikari did enjoy the fries and burgers. It was all girl talk and about how 'dreamy' the male lead was in the movie. It didn't take long for Misato to get cracking on that six pack. Hikari seemed genuinely interested in Misato and how she became the head tactician for NERV. Misato told her most of the story starting from joining the organization, and how she even met Asuka as a child when she worked for NERV's branch in Germany. She was skillful in telling the story without going into details like her whirlwind relationship with Kaji or the more vivid aspects of Asuka's childhood. Many of those even Shinji didn't know, and Asuka was grateful Misato avoided sharing.

"Okay." Misato said. "Let's all go change into our bed clothes and get ready for the movie." Everyone got up and the girls ran into Asuka's room. Shinji came out to see Misato standing by the TV table with her back to him. She was bending over and laying snacks and soda out over the table. A case of beer was at her side. As expected she was barely wearing anything in this heat. A loose tank top and small cut off shorts. Shinji had seen her like this many times before, but that didn't prevent him from stopping in his tracks for a second. He sat down, but couldn't draw his eyes away from Misato's matured body. He could even tell she wasn't wearing a bra. He would reach out for a soda, but missed several times. Misato was losing her patience. "Asuka, what's taking so long?"

"Coming." Asuka said irritated.

"Be right there." said Hikari.

Shinji was shocked again as Asuka came out. He had lived here with Asuka for quite some time and he had not seen her dress like that for bed. It looked as if she had taken cue from Misato. She was wearing a tight top, belly exposed, and tight fitting boxer briefs. She didn't even have her hair pulled back into her trademarked pigtails. Hikari wasn't as provocative. She was wearing a cute and modest baby doll style nightie. She looked rather shy. This might of been the first time a boy had ever seen her in her bed clothes. Asuka shot Shinji a quick look as she came out of her room. When their eyes met he was positive Asuka was going to yell at him or call him a pervert. She just smiled and went to grab a seat next to Hikari. They both draped their blankets over their shoulders. Hikari picked Pen-Pen up and rested him in her lap. The bird looked very comfortable.

"Now that we're all ready let's get the movie started." said Misato. She picked up the remote and selected the to a movie film library option. The screen loaded and Misato scrolled through the films. She scrolled through the romance movies and found the movie "Magic Number 7". A parental code option appeared. Misato imputed her code and the movie began. Shinji braced himself for the emotional torture. She set down the remote and Shinji heard Misato open her first beer.

He never saw this movie before, but it was just as insufferable as he thought it would be. Over the top romance, lot of emotion, and some brief nudity. That explained the parental code. He kept shifting his position on the floor. The girls had taken up all the seats. After the first half hour Asuka started to make demands. He would go ahead and do as asked. It was an escape from the mushy film, but a few minutes later she would have a new one. "Shinji, get the Cheesy Chips." "Get the ice cream, Idiot." "Shinji, get more tissues." "Schnell!"

"Quit ordering him around like he was a pet." scolded Misato to Asuka.

"But he's not even watching the movie. He could at least be of some use." Asuka retorted.

Before Misato could scold Asuka any further Shinji stood up. "It's alright Misato." he said. Shinji returned with their request. "Thank you Ikari-Kun." said Hikari. "Yeah thanks." said Asuka.

Things were pretty quiet for the next half hour. Shinji turned to the girls when he heard them all start to cry. The actors in the movie were making some deep heartfelt admissions of their love. They were yelling at each other, and sounded angry. It sounded more like an argument that they both agreed on. They were face to face when they suddenly attacked the other with their lips. Clothes went flying and a brief, tasteful love scene followed.

Shinji didn't know this, but all of the girls were running this fantasy through their heads. They had place themselves in the girls part and their dream man in the role of the actor. Asuka was picturing Kaji holding her with his strong arms and admitting his deep love for her. Hikari was imagining Touji would throw caution to the wind, take her in his arms, and kiss her forever. Misato during the love scene had flashed on those years she spent with Kaji. The sex and the fun they had. Shinji was more busy checking the clock as he looked past the girls and wondering how much longer this could last. He looked to the girls. They were either crying, smiling, or both.

"_It's so stupid."_ he thought. "_Why do they watch these things when it just makes them upset and cry? It's all kind of upsetting. What's so enjoyable about crying?"_ His eyes came to Asuka. "_She's not crying. It looks like she wants to, but nothing's happening. She's smiling though. It's nice."_ He can't take his eyes away from her. Not her body, but her hair. "_Her hair's down. It looks nice. She looks…relaxed."_ He notices Asuka's eyes move and skillfully looks over his shoulder as if she caught him while looking back to the clock.

The movie ended with an equally sappy ending. Hikari was crying like a fountain. Shinji got up and walked to the kitchen. Misato dried her eyes and blew her nose. "Well, it isn't very late, but I got to get up early tomorrow so I'm going to bed." she said. "Night kids. Don't stay up too late." Misato paused in front of the phone. Part of her thought about calling Kaji. Better sense got to her and she walked into her room.

"Come on Hikari let's go to my room." said Asuka grabbing Hikari's wrist, and several bags of her favorite chips and sodas.

"Shouldn't we go help Ikari-kun with making the lunches?" said Hikari pointing to Shinji working in the kitchen.

"Nah." Asuka replies. "He's fine." The two then disappeared into her room. Pen-Pen walked past Shinji and went to his bed.

Shinji was nearly finished cooking when Misato came out of her room holding her head and groaning. She brushed up against Shinji as she reached for a glass of water and drank it down quickly. Her skin almost glows from perspiration and heat. "I thought it was Asuka's turn this week to cook your lunches for school."

"Yeah." was Shinji's simple reply. "She asked me on the walk home if I would take her duty tonight. It made sense with Hikari over. She's spending time with her."

"Why do you let her boss you around like that?" she says.

"She's not really." Shinji says and Misato pours another glass of water. "She's not asking me to do anything that I don't want to."

"That's not the point." she says.

"But what's the point in refusing to do something that you really don't mind doing?" he says. "It also seems to make her happy when I cook. When she's happy she just seems more relaxed."

"It's about respect, Shinji." She says leaning against the counter. "A woman isn't going to respect you if you just do everything she tells you. She'll just end up walking all over you. Sometimes a woman wants her man to be more of a challenge." Shinji looks up to Misato. She seems to be implying something, but the point was completely lost on him. She chuckles at how oblivious this boy can be. She puts her hand on his shoulder. "Night. Don't stay up too late."

"Goodnight." he replies as she walks to her room and clothes the door.

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In Asuka's room the girls sat on the bed. Hikari sat with her back to Asuka. Asuka was helping Hikari with brushing the back of her hair.

"What were you thinking about while watching that movie?" asks Asuka.

"W-what ever do you mean?" said Hikari.

"I saw you." laughed Asuka. "When they shared breakfast after 'that night'. You were thinking about that block head weren't you."

"ASUKA!" Hikari looks scandalized, and Asuka laughs. She turns her head back blushing.

"Your almost as easy as the idiot out there." says Asuka. " I still can't say much for your taste."

"Asuka, please don't."

"Alright, I know. It's not my business."

"I - I just wished he would look at me like that." said Hikari. Asuka could feel her friends morale slip.

"Listen. Maybe we should try and do something different with your hair or something. Try a new style." Asuka grabs Hikari's hair and holds it as if she was styling her own hair in pigtails.

Hikari giggles and says, "Thanks for the offer, but I like my hair.". Hikari sits up and lays in her soft cushioned sleeping bag. "I don't think he would even notice something like that." She hugs her pillow. Kicking her feet are in the air. Asuka grabs a handful of chips and looks to her friend.

The room is quiet for a minute. Hikari hears the dishes as Shinji finishes his cooking. "Wasn't it your turn to cook this week?"

"Yeah Shinji's taking it on tonight. No big deal. He likes doing that kind of stuff. I like his food and he likes making it."

"Asuka, why don't you have a boyfriend?" asks Hikari.

"What!" says Asuka shocked.

"You're so beautiful. You could have any boy in school, but the only boy I ever see you with is Shinji."

"We work together. So what?" Asuka lays back on her bed. "What brought all this up?"

"I saw him... during the movie." Hikari still cuddling her pillow, but turning to look to Asuka. "He was watching you"

"He was probably thinking something perverted." Asuka says nodding her head.

"His eyes were soft. He was smiling. I don't think I've ever seen him look like that." Hikari thought for a moment. "Do you like Shinji?"

"Awk!" Asuka hollered. "He's a dork! Yeah he has his uses. He can be so damn dense." She starts to tap her foot in a wild pace. "He wouldn't know what do to with a woman unless he was given a map. Only one man has my heart."

"Mr. Kaji?"

Asuka moans. "Yeah. He's a real man."

"Shinji is nice. He's shy, but he has a kind heart."

"Yeah, I guess." says Asuka and the room goes quiet. Both of them lost in thought. "_He's an idiot, but I guess he's alright. I want a man...not a boy."_ she thinks."Hey Hikari."

"What is it?" Hikari looks to Asuka and is suddenly hit in the face with a thrown soft pillow.

Shinji finishes up with the dishes and stretches his arms. He hears a sudden and loud giggling heard from Asuka's room. "_Their happy." _he thinks. Shinji walks to his room. He picks up his SDAT player and listens to his music. Climbing into bed he reaches for a manga book. He reads for about an hour and lays down to sleep. He can still hear them laughing and giggling. His mind drifts into sleep and some of his memories today.

That lunch.

No pictures.

The movie.

Her hair.

She wasn't crying.

Why wasn't she crying?

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Like Misato said she was gone when everyone woke up. No one heard her leave. Must have been really early. Shinji woke up slowly. The thoughts he had just before falling into sleep were gone. Like a deep dream that slips from your grasp once you have finally realized your awake. He could smell the cooking. Smelled like bacon, toast and pancakes. He stepped out of his room rubbing his eyes. They felt dry and just wouldn't focus. He saw Asuka and Hikari, still in their bed clothes, both working at the stove. Pen-Pen was busy eating up already. He could hear Hikari giving Asuka tips.

"Morning." Shinji said.

Hikari turned and said, "Good morning, Ikari-kun.".

"Hey." Asuka said simply waving her hand up and not even turning to look.

"We woke up early and thought we would make breakfast since you made our lunches."

"Uh, Thanks." Shinji says.

Asuka turns her head with a nasty look. "What's with that tone, Third?" she says.

"Nothing. I didn't mean-" Shinji says stumbling over his words. "Sorry." Asuka turns back to the pancakes and rolling her eyes with a huff.

Shinji helps Hikari set out the plates. He pours the orange juice as Asuka and Hikari set out the food. Shinji sits across from the girls. "Asuka made the pancakes." Hikari says cheerful.

"Really?" says Shinji looking to Asuka. She doesn't respond.

The first thing Shinji tries is the pancakes. Unseen by him Asuka is watching him intently. She gently bites the at the inside of her lip. She wants to see his instant reaction. He takes a bite and smiles. "It tastes great. Thanks." Shinji says to Asuka, but misses her eyes. She is looking away. "Whatever." Is her only response. "Hikari was a lot of help."

Hikari looks to the both of them. Softly humming and kicking her feet. "_It's almost like the movie." _she thinks.

The teens eat and get ready for school. Asuka pushed Shinji into his room and told him not to come out until ordered to. The girls were going into the bath and she wanted to be positive he wasn't going to try and peak. The girls washed up and Asuka gave him the all clear once they were in her room and changing. Shinji was hardly in bath room for ten minutes. He came out, got dressed and handed the girls their lunches.

"What did you make, Ikari-kun?" asked Hikari.

"Asuka's favorite. Eggs and sausage with noodles." answers Shinji.

"Thank you very much." says Hikari and looks to Asuka. Asuka just looks at her bento box. "Thanks." she says softly blushing. She just can't bring herself to insult him just now. Oh well, sure she'll come up with something later. It's early.

The three walk out the door. Shinji walks behind them. He's pretty sure he hears Hikari mention that new arcade again and this weekend. It's warm again today, but there's a nice breeze.

"_Her hair's blowing in the wind."_ he thinks.

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To Be Continued...  
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	3. A Tender Misdeed

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, some violence, and mild sexually suggestive content)

A/N: Welcome to chapter three of my ongoing mini saga. Normally when I write I start on paper with small notes on how I want events in a chapter to play out. Oddly enough the defining moment in this chapter started as a simple scene of what is now going to be chapter four. It's funny how three or four sentences of notes could wind up becoming a whole chapter.  
You will notice that this chapter has an IM (Instant message) scene. I've seen those in a couple of fan fics and they always made for some good stuff. My original plan was to have Hikari ask Shinji during gym, but this works out so much better. Most of the time in IM scenes the sign on names always looked like they were made by a fan. I gave them these names by looking at the personality of the characters. I wanted it to look like something they would pick. I even put the thought into how they would type. I pictured Shinji and Hikari paying close attention to grammar, Rei being a simple as possible, and Asuka typing as fast as she can throwing proper grammar to the wind.  
Anyone who is a fan of the manga and anime should recognize a few moments.

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Tender Misdeed**

"_Sooo cold."_ he thought shivering in bed. "_Why is it so cold in here? I thought it was summer."_ Shinji clung to his covers in a fetal position on his bed. Peaking out from under his covers he looks to his clock. _"It's time to get up."_ Time to get ready for school and he was surprised how he was actually looking forward to it. Crowds of people usually made him feel a little uncomfortable, but yesterday was nice. Hikari just glowed about the lunch he prepared for them. She insisted he sit with her and Asuka so she could pick his brain about recipes. Asuka seemed a little put out that Shinji was there with them, but even she seemed to listen as he talked about some of his ingredients and preparations. Hikari appeared to be very impressed by many of Shinji's personal touches.

After lunch Touji and Kensuke asked about the night before. Mostly all they seemed to care about was what the girls were wearing as sleep wear. Asuka must of heard them ask, because before Shinji could say anything he felt a wad of paper hit him in the back of the head. Looking to it's origin he saw Asuka giving him a very evil glare that seemed to say, "_Tell them and I'll make you suffer."_. He simply answered his friends with, "Nothing special.". Shinji told them a rough over view of the movie and Touji seemed to pity Shinji. Almost looked like he wanted to hug him to console him through such a trauma. He didn't though, thankfully.

Touji and Kensuke did ask for a couple details. "So just how bad was it?" Touji asked out of morbid curiosity. "I did hear there was some decent nudity."

"Yeah some." Shinji answered. "Most of the movie was really sappy. Lot of the girls cried. I think Hikari was crying the most."

"Girls are weird about those movies" says Kensuke. "Give me anything created by Raimi and I'm happy."

"Yeah, it's was strange." chuckled Shinji.

"Women are just crazy that's all." says Touji. "Still Ikari you are one poor bastard to have to suffer through that." Shinji just nodded his agreement.

Hikari walked all the way back to Misato's place with Asuka and Shinji so she could collect the things she left. Asuka insisted that they help Hikari carry all her stuff home. Which really meant Shinji was to carry everything while the girls led the way and gossiped. When they got to Hikari's home her parents were very grateful they took such care of their daughter. They invited both Shinji and Asuka in for tea.

"Thank you," Shinji said politely. "but I think we should be getting home."

Asuka shot him a nasty look and whispered, "Don't be so rude. It's not sociable to turn down a polite offer like that." She turned to Hikari's mother, bowed, said, "Thank you very much, Mrs. Horaki.", and yanks Shinji in by the ear. "You'll have to forgive this idiot. He's not well versed in diplomatic matters." Hikari's mom was very understanding and just laughed it off.

Inside Shinji finally got to meet Hikari's older sisters, Kodama and Nozomi. They seemed to find Shinji's natural innocence as adorable as Misato. They sat close to him and teased him about if he had a girlfriend. Asuka was usually very polite around mixed company like this, but she seemed to glare at Hikari's sisters and cursed them under her breath.

Shinji and Asuka shared the small bag peanut butter and chocolate chip nano-cookies Hikari's mom gave them as they left. A gesture of thanks for escorting their daughter safely home. Shinji ate a couple, but gave the rest to Asuka. He really didn't like peanut butter that much and knew Asuka liked it a lot. She hadn't talked much on the walk home until then. She thanked him and a few minutes later asked what he thought about Hikari's sisters. "They were nice." he said. "I just don't know why they kept asking me all those personal questions."

"What kind of questions?" Asuka asked.

"Do I have a girlfriend, If I LIKE Hikari, and Kodama kept tickling my neck." he replied. "It made me a little uncomfortable." Asuka just shook her head and slugged him in the arm. "Don't be an idiot, Stupid. They thought you were dating Hikari. Gott knows you would be an improvement over that dork Suzuhara. Anyone would." she said but mumbled that last sentence. "But Hikari has her heart set on that particular Stooge. Seriously, Shinji you shouldn't let a little touching upset you." Asuka caught Shinji off guard when she slipped her arm over his shoulder. "See this isn't so bad is it?"

"No…. I guess not." Shinji said and smiled. They stayed like that during the whole walk home. Shinji hadn't felt this relaxed in a very long time. When he went to bed it was very easy for him to drift to sleep. He even had another lovely dream that he wouldn't remember the next morning with the exception of the end where he was trapped in a mountain cave with some wild girl during a snow storm. Upon waking up and feeling how cold it was in the house the end of the dream started to make more sense.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shinji climbed out of bed still covered in his blanket. He slides open his door and sees Misato standing at the stove in sweat pants and shirt. Pen-pen was waddling around the place looking rather comfortable. "Misato, what's with the apartment? It's freezing." he asks. Misato turns around to give an apologetic smile. "Morning. I'm sorry." Misato says. "The humidity is suppose to skyrocket today. I turned on the Central AC, but it seems to be busted through the entire apartment complex. I can't even close the vents. I called the land lord, and she said she should have someone to look at it this afternoon."

About this time Asuka's door came sliding open. She was wearing the same kind of small outfit she was wearing the night of the movie and seemed to be regretting it. She walked out rubbing her arms to try and keep herself warm. "Verdammt noch mal!" the red head hollers. "It's like a freezer in here!" Misato gave Asuka the rundown about the problems with the ventilation. Shinji had the bad luck to choose this time to glance down and notice the biological effect the cold was having on Asuka's body. She took notice of what he was staring at and quickly covered her breasts with her hands. "YOU PERVERT!" she screams. "Can't you pigs think with something above the belt!"

"S-s-sorry." Shinji sputters quickly looking off to spaces. "I mean I… I didn't mean to-"

"What's going on?" asks Misato looking away from her cooking.

"It's Shinji! He was staring at me." Asuka says glaring at him. Misato glances back to the frying pan and says in response, "Then go put on something warmer."

"I can't." Asuka says. "All my winter and fall clothes are in storage."

"Uh, can I grab a shower first so-" Shinji started to say.

"No." snapped Asuka as she turned on him. "It's called 'chivalry', Idiot. Ladies go first." Still covering herself she stormed into the bathroom slamming the door. "_It might help if you would acted like a lady more often."_ thought Misato as she sipped at her beer. "Uh, Shinji." Misato says embarrassed and looking to the boy. "Could you help me with breakfast? I think I burned the eggs." Shinji helped Misato and he was able to help salvage the botched cooking. He even put some green onions in the pan with some sliced ham. Warming up some tortilla shells he made breakfast burritos. Asuka walked out much calmer then she did going in, and saying that she saved him some warm water. Shinji washed up. By the time he was out Asuka was just exiting of her room, dressed for school, covered by her blanket. He went to his room and was surprised that Asuka and Misato had waited for him before they started to eat. Misato and Pen-pen saw them to the door and said, "Have a nice day kids.". They all waved their good-byes as they left.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day was just as humid and muggy as Misato had warned. The weather guy was right. There's a new one. Rei was in class today. She looked a little tired and had a bandage on her right arm. All the windows were open in school to tempt a non existent breeze. Shinji was tapping his pen on his desk during the lecture when a familiar chime rang from his laptop. On his screen he saw he was sent an instant message.

**ClassRep2-A:** Ikari-kun?

**Shin-chan03:** Yeah?

**ClassRep2-A: **Do you have any plans for this weekend? Sat 11:00am?

**Shin-chan03:** No. Why? Btw-Thank your mother for those cookies. They were good.

**ClassRep2-A:** I'll be sure to tell her.

**ClassRep2-A: **Do you want to go to that new arcade in the middle of town this weekend?

**Shin-chan03:** Sure. Who else will be coming?

**ClassRep2-A:** ...

**ClassRep2-A:** I already talked to Asuka. She'll be coming.

**Shin-chan03:** Is that all?

**ClassRep2-A:** No...

**ClassRep2-A:** I'll be inviting more. Just don't say anything to Asuka or anyone else. PLEASE!

**Shin-chan03:** Uh, sure. I promise.

**Shin-chan03:** Is anything wrong?

**ClassRep2-A:** No. Sorry, Asuka is inviting me to IM. See you this weekend. )

**Shin-chan03:** Later.

**ClassRep2-A** has left the room.

Shinji sits looking to his empty screen. He thinks, "_Why doesn't she want me to tell anyone?"_. He looks toward the head of the class and he sees she is typing away as she talks with Asuka via the chat network. He looks over to Rei and her bandaged arm. He types on his computer to send Rei and instant message.

**Shin-chan03:** Rei are you there?

**ARei01** has entered the room

**ARei01: **Yes Ikari.

**Shin-chan03:** Are you all right? I saw the bandage.

**ARei01:** I'm fine. There was an accident. No one was harmed.

**Shin-chan03**: But your arm.

**ARei01:** A hatch closed on my arm. It's not serious.

**Shin-chan03:** I'm glad you're all right.

**ARei01:** Okay.

**ARei01** has left the room.

**Shin-chan03:** ...

**ARei** has entered the room

**ARei01:** Ikari?

**Shin-chan03:** Yes?

**ARei01:** Thank you.

**ARei01** has left the room.

Shinji looks up from his laptop to Rei. She sits at her desk looking forward, but this time he can see a small smile. He was about to turn off his PC when he saw another message.

**RED-Hot02:** trying to peak at WonderGirls breasts too perv? Lol

**Shin-chan03:** No…

**RED-Hot02:** Whatever ;P

**RED-Hot02:** hey shinji. Tell Misato that I'll be home later tonight.

**Shin-chan03:** ……

**Shin-chan03:** It's your turn to cook dinner tonight. Guess this means you want me to do it. :-(

**RED-Hot02:** Think again idiot. I'm walking home with Hikari but I should be home in time to cook dinner.

**Shin-chan03:** What are you making?

**RED-Hot02:** it's a trade secret. Lol.

**RED-Hot02** has left the room.

Shinji turned his computer off and took notes for his class. Shinji lived up to his promise to Hikari and didn't talk about the arcade to anyone. It made him feel a little uncomfortable to not talk about it with his friends. Hikari said she would invite them so he didn't see the big deal. Asuka waved good-bye as they parted ways on the walk home. She seemed really excited today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misato wasn't home when he got back. He found Pen-pen laying in the beanbag chair taking a nap. The house was still freezing. The maintenance guy must not of showed up yet. Shinji sat alone in the house only for a few minutes when Misato came walking in. She apologized to Shinji for not being there when he got home. Ritsuko called and they had a late lunch with drinks.

Much later in the day Asuka was as good as her word. She walked in with some groceries and nearly bit Shinji's head off when she found him in the kitchen getting ready to cook. Asuka was heard cooking and chopping in the kitchen. Not as much clamored as the last time she tried to cook, but nearly as many curses.

They all sat down and to everyone's amazement Asuka prepared a very good BLT salad with breadsticks. Like the name it was a salad with the usual lettuce, shredded cheese, and tomatoes, but also had many hunks of bacon. She had finished it up with a creamy garlic dressing. Misato and Shinji addressed her with much praise over the meal. She just went on and feigned modesty as she glowed in the approval. After this meal Shinji had a good idea what Hikari and Asuka were doing at her place. After dinner Asuka changed for bed in her usual shorts and baggy yellow shirt. She was still covering herself in a blanket, because of the cold.

There was a phone call that Misato answered later in the evening. She seemed reluctant to talk to whoever it was. A few minutes later she was saying the call was from Ritsuko. Ritsuko and Maya were going out for drinks and she was joining them. Shinji already knew Misato had gone out for drinks with Ritsuko that afternoon. Judging by the way she was blushing and looking to see Asuka's reaction as she walked out the door he was sure the real person on the other side of the line was Kaji. Shinji at times really did envy the way Kaji could always say just the right thing.

It was a little past nine when Asuka called to Shinji asking him what was on the television. "Nothing really special." he said as he sat in the small couch. He flicked through the channels finding nothing of much interest. "Just some crime dramas, and some of those stupid pre-second impact reality shows." Asuka walked into the TV part of the room and sat next to Shinji on the couch still covered by her blanket. She had brought with her a soda and a bag of her favorite chips. She snatched the remote from Shinji's hand and started to mess with the buttons. "If we can't find anything on these crappy 'parental approved' channels lets try the others." she says with a wicked grin.

"But... Misato is the only one with the code." say Shinji.

"Not any more. I saw her put the code in the other day." Asuka brought up some of the adult comedies from the movie library. She looked through to find one with the highest parental warning. "I'm not sure about this Asuka. What if Misato comes back?" Shinji says meekly.

Asuka looks to him with a disappointed look and says, "Mein Gott. Don't you ever get tired of being the good little boy. No way she will be home for at least 3 more hours.".

"How did you come to that?" he asks.

"Cause that's when the bars close in Tokyo-3." She says as if she was addressing a child.

Shinji just bowed to her reasoning and was starting to get tired of always being the 'good boy'. Asuka giggled in joy and found a suitable movie. The title was, "_Eurotrip"_. A comedy about a boy just getting out of high school who falls in love with a girl in Germany via e-mail. He accidentally sends her a flaming email. The boy really thinks he has fallen in love with this girl and joins his three friends on a whirlwind trip to tour Europe to meet her. There was plenty of nudity, underage drinking, and very funny, gross moments. Much to Shinji's surprise about ten minutes into the movie Asuka slid closer to him, cuddled up, and rested her head on his shoulder. He was nervous and he could hear the ice in his glass rattle as his hand shook. Keeping his eye on the movie Shinji was thinking, "_That's some orange juice."_ and "_Ewww, with his sister."_.

At the end of the movie Asuka was even shocked. "_Mein Gott! In das Vatikan!"_ she thought blushing.

It was a little hard to concentrate on the movie as she rubbed up against him. "_Her hair smells like lavender."_ Shinji thinks. The fragrance and warmth nearly puts him into a trance. It was hard to miss Asuka's laugh when this little German boy in the background painted himself with a small mustache and started goose-stepping. They remained close and laughed through the entire film. "If you don't rat me out to Misato we might do this again some time." Asuka says.

Shinji says, "I wont. This was nice.". She smiles, gets up, and says, "Now off to bed, Dork." She slaps the back of his head. Much lighter then she usually hits him.

It was just then Shinji noticed Pen-pen was giving them a nasty stare. He seemed to know they had been misbehaving. He really didn't care at that moment. They spent some time together and actually enjoyed it. _"Maybe she doesn't really hate me."_

Shinji got up, put his glass away, and gathered another blanket from the linen closet. Misato still wasn't home. "_She must be really having fun with Kaji tonight."_ he thinks as he turns out the lights and climbs into bed. He rests his head on the pillow with a smile on his face. His arm and shoulder still felt warm from where Asuka was resting against him. The scent of lavender was still fresh on his memory and his eyelids droop...

It was that sweet aroma that caused him to open his eyes. It felt like they were only shut for a second. The room was pitch black, but he felt like someone was in the room. "Who's there?" Shinji says into the dim. His eyes adjusting better to the dark. He can make out a slim female figure. "It's me Shinji." the girl says.

"Asuka?" replies Shinji in calm surprise. "Is something wrong?"

"It's too cold in my room." Asuka pouts as she walks to the side of his bed. "I thought I could come in here and we could keep each other... warm." Asuka lifts the covers and slips into his bed.

"A-Asuka." he stutters.

"Shut up and just relax." she says in a sweet tone. She slides up against Shinji under the covers. He feels her arm wrap around his chest. "You should appreciate your good fortune. You know. I've never slept in the same bed with a boy before, and I chose you."

Shinji's breathing becomes shallow. He can feel her soft skin move along his arm and it hits him like a bolt of lighting. "ASUKA, are you naked?"

Asuka giggles. He feels her nuzzle at his neck. "We can keep each other warm this way. Flesh... to... flesh. It could be really awesome." Her hand slowly slides up inside his shirt and fingernails caress over his bare chest."

Only sounds coming out of Shinji's mouth sound more like a whispering, sputtering car. "W-w-what about Misato? If - if she find us… we… might get in trou-" Asuka cuts Shinji off by placing her finger gently on his lips and says, "Sh shh shhh shhhh. Relax idiot." He sees her lean in smiling. Their lips are barely an inch apart. He starts to shake all over. "Oh, Don't shiver, mein Liebchen. I'll keep you... warm... There's just one thing I really need to tell you… before." She bats her eyes and smiles.

"W-w-hat is it?" he asks...

Pushing roughly on his shoulders she leans up and with an angry scream she says, "WAKE UP, DUMMKOPF!"

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The sun is bright as Shinji's eyes burst open suddenly only to see Asuka standing by his bed rather then inside it. She looks angry. She's wearing sweat clothes that appear too big for her. He can only guess they are Misato's. "It's about time." she says coldly. "Misato asked me to come wake you up. I come in here and find you with that stupid grin on your face and-" Asuka's eyes glance further down and something catches her eye.

Misato has just pressed down on the toaster when she suddenly hears a high pitched scream. "_That came from Shinji's room."_ Misato thinks.

"Mein Gott! Is that all you males can think about!" Misato hears Asuka yells from Shinji's room.

"What!" She hears Shinji's scream. "I-I-I can't help that! J-just get out of my room!"

"Yeah, like I want to stay." Asuka says as she storms out and slams the door shut behind her. Misato sees Asuka walk into the kitchen, pour herself some orange juice, and takes a seat at the table. Cursing in German under her breath. "I take it you woke Shin-chan up." Misato says looking to the agitated hot head.

"Oh, he's UP alright." Asuka says in a bitter tone, looking out the window.

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To Be Continued...  
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	4. Blind, Deaf and Dumb Date

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: This is a rather long chapter. Lot of dialog and emotions to run through.

I was pleased the reaction the dream sequence got from chapter three. That's as about as hot as things are going to get. I really look forward to my reviews and the questions people have.

I have noticed in a lot of fan fictions they give the people in Eva current technology. I tried to take something that is current, but tweaked it a bit. best example is on the movies they pick. I got the idea from things like those direct tv options, and download able shows for I-Pods. I thought. What if in the future it's common place to be able to download any movie whenever you want. Some things give you this option, but only a select few movies. I just took it to the next level.

Hard core Eva fans will recognize a name appearing in this chapter. Oh yeah, and Misato is half naked. My bit of fan service.

This chapter has had some editing after some of the reviews. I realized that I really didn't sell the moments and I wasn't getting across the feel I wanted in certain moments.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Blind, Deaf and Dumb Date**

Deep under the high tech city of Tokyo-3 in the Geo-Front is the NERV Headquarters. Employees were mulling about on random duties. It has been weeks since the last Angel attack. One would think for NERV HQ that would be a great thing, but when your whole purpose surrounds destroying the Angels that can make for very little to do.

In NERV's cafeteria sits four of NERV's more important officials. Many of which have been close friends since college. Their own personal histories have lead them to work for NERV. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, chief science officer, is lazily glancing through past research notes, and sitting to her left Maya Ibuki, control room operator, is smiling and flipping through a novel.

Misato Katsuragi resting her head on the table upon her crossed arms. Her meal is barely picked at, but her beer is well more then half gone. To her right is NERV special investigations officer, Ryoji Kaji. He sits leaning back, arms limp at his side, and head tilted back. He would appear to be dead if it wasn't for the fact his eyes are blinking, looking to the ceiling, and moaning in boredom every five minutes.

"So Asuka was pretty upset by that time." says Misato looking across the table to her friend Ritsuko. "She just kept grumbling and didn't say anything to Shinji."

"Guess no one ever told her that boys really have no control over that sort of thing." says Ritsuko putting down her notes and starts eating again. "You could always give her 'The Talk'."

"Oh yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun." says Misato rolling her eyes. Kaji chuckles picturing that conversation. "I don't think she was mad about that as much other things. I loaned her some of my clothes to wear. They didn't fit her too well and I think that was a blow to her pride. A reminder of how immature she still is."

"Or a reminder of how much bigger you've gotten." says Kaji. Misato gives a jerk and Kaji suddenly yells, "Aggh!". Misato gives a devilish smile from the swift kick she just delivered to his leg.

"So Shinji was just a target for her frustration?" says Maya.

"Well, he is her favorite target." says Misato.

"Their school will be out for summer break this week, right?" asks Ritsuko.

"End of next week." says Misato. "We'll need to find something to keep them busy, or… from killing each other."

"Well, we have a synch test scheduled for them Sunday." says Ritsuko. "Commander Fuyutsuki was also talking about running some battle simulations in the Geo-Front."

"It's a pity really." says Kaji still looking to the ceiling, and the ladies look to him for explanation. "They can't just be like kids and enjoy their youth."

They sit in a thoughtful pause for a few minutes. Maya says, "Is there any explanation why there hasn't been an Angel attack?"

"If there is no one is telling me." says Ritsuko.

"How many weeks has it been already? I've lost count." says Misato.

"Six." answers Ritsuko.

"I'm sooo bored." whines Maya. "I wish an Angel would attack." Even Kaji has lifted his head to look to Maya in silent confusion who has just realized what she just said. Blushing she says, "Oh wait! I-I didn't mean…" Cutting herself off she hides behind her book. Every Angel attack is a possibility for a Third Impact, in which would wipe out all of humanity.

Kaji always quick to a ladies rescue comes up with a plan to deflect the attention from the awkward silence that fills the group. "So Katsuragi," he says. "I thought last night you said the kids have been getting along better."

"Yeah." she says in surprise. "Asuka seems to be mellowing out a bit. Last night she actually made a really good meal."

"Asuka becoming a domestic woman?" chuckles Ritsuko.

"Hmm. Maybe love in in the air." Kaji adds.

"For those three minutes in the day they aren't at each others throats they do look like a rather cute couple." says Misato.

Ritsuko glances to her friends across the table. "_Who does that remind me of?"_ she thinks with a sly smile.

"You should of seen the outfit she was wearing on that movie night." says Misato. "I wasn't sure if she was showing off for Hikari or Shinji." She looks to Ritsuko who seems as curious as herself. "Oddly enough I don't think Asuka is so much of a problem. Shinji just doesn't have much confidence with girls,….. or anything else for that matter."

"Maybe I could take him out to lunch." says Kaji. "Give him some of tips dealing with women."

"Great." chirps Misato. "After that I'll need to get him deprogrammed for a month." Maya and Ritsuko chuckle.

"Uh, is anyone else a little curious why four college educated adults are so interested in the romantic life of two teenagers?" asks a timid Maya.

"That's easy." says Kaji.

"We're bored." says Misato.

Ritsuko glows in the humor how they share the same thoughts. Amazing what can happen when a couple lives together for two years. "So… what was the movie you all picked last?" asks Ritsuko.

"Magic Number 7." sighs Misato. The two other ladies imitate Misato's moan. The movie is well known with almost all women.

Kaji looks up for the second time with a look as if he had just drank expired milk. "Oh lord!" he groans. "Not that movie." He leans his head back and finishes his thought. "You dragged me to that 'thing' three times. Are you trying to drown that poor boy in estrogen?" Kaji suddenly feels six pairs of eyes boring into him. He has just realized the company he is keeping. He's almost too afraid to make a run for it.

"Oh, crap." is all he manages to say before-

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Far above the Geo-Front lunch time in school has the teens sitting on the roof. Hikari, Asuka and Rei were sitting in a small group. Rei just sat silently eating not joining the quiet conversation. Kensuke had brought a collection of pictures he gathered on his last trip to an aircraft carrier.

"Look at these pictures" Kensuke says forcing several shots into his friends hands. "That jet was piloted by a real war hero. I saw the barracks. This shot is awesome. I got to sit in the gunners seat. I nearly got kicked off the boat for taking pictures here."

"Why can't you ever go to a beach and take pictures of girls?" asks Touji as he casually flips through the pictures. Shinji isn't even looking. He glances over to the girls who are a few feet away. Rei no longer has a bandage on her arm, but a slight bruise; Hikari has been acting nervous, and Asuka has still refused to say anything to him all day.

Touji slaps the back of your head with the prints. "Still in the dog house with the Mrs., Ikari?" he says.

Shinji looks back to his friend. "She's mad at me about something this morning." says Shinji. His cheeks glowing. Touji is about to lean in to interrogate his friend for the juicy details when the bell warning the kids that the lunch break has ended chimes. Kensuke gathers up his pictures and the girls walk back into the school. Shinji tried to say something to Asuka as she passed by, but he stops himself. "_I'll just make things worse."_ he thinks.

"If you want pictures of girls I got this shot of the commander on the boat." Kensuke says handing Touji a few pictures. "She reminded me of Misato." Touji looks at the picture smiling.

"OH yeah." Touji says smiling. "Look at that butt. Makes me think about enlisting."

Shinji walks the halls looking to his shoes. He is suddenly stopped by bumping into someone. Glancing back up quickly he sputters, "I-I'm sorry I wasn't-".

"It's alright." says the short haired brunette girl. Her hair is choppy, but well kept. Her eyes are bright and friendly. The red ribbon of her uniform is untied. "You looked pretty deep in thought." Shinji just gave a weak smile. "Hey, your Ikari the Eva pilot aren't you?" the girl asks. Shinji just nods not sure if she means that as a good or bad thing. She smiles. "Oh cool. My names Mana. I'd really like to talk about-" She is cut off by the last warning bell. "Oh darn, " grips Mana. "I got to go. I can't afford to be late again." She runs off in a mad sprint. "See you around."

"Later." says a confused Shinji as he walks into class 2-A. Kensuke and Touji have waited for him at the door and saw the whole little conversation with the cute girl, Mana.

"You shopping for a mistress?" Touji jokes.

"Wow, she talked with you." says Kensuke watching after the girl. His eyes following her every move.

"Huh?" says Shinji. "Who is she?"

"That's Mana Kirishima." says Kensuke. "She works for the school paper. She's in our grade." His mood drops as she turns the corner and is out of sight.

"Yeah." says Touji. "She was one of those girls the ball player was cheating on. I heard she could be a real bitch when she wants to. Nice legs though."

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They walk back into class and the rest of the school day goes by at a slow pace. On the walk home Shinji tried to think of several ways he could make up for this morning's misunderstanding, but shot down any plan that started with an apology. That always just seemed to make her more angry. They got home and Asuka changed into the clothes Misato loaned her.

Misato tried to stir a conversation between the three during dinner. All attempts were unsuccessful. During the meal Asuka ask someone to pass the salt. It was sitting right in front of Shinji. He tentatively lifted it and passed it to her. They looked into each other eyes and she said simply, "Thanks.".

Misato just smiled as she watched them. "_Well, it's progress."_ she thought.

They all finished their dinner and Shinji gathered the dishes. Shinji sat at the TV table doing his homework. Asuka, who had already finished her work, laid on the floor flipping through a magazine. Misato was sitting a few feet away from the teens. While reading her new pop culture magazine she heard Shinji groan about his school work. "What wrong now?" asked Asuka in dismay.

"I'm just having some trouble with this." Shinji said waving to his laptop screen.

Rolling her eyes Asuka gets up and sits next to Shinji. "Move over, Stupid. Let me see." she says in a huff.

Misato smiles as she watches them talk about school work. Asuka was pointing out Shinji's mistakes and he sat listening carefully to the explanation. "_They are so cute together."_ Misato thinks. She reads her magazine glancing to the couple after every few pages.

It was movie night again and this is week was Misato's pick. Shinji was done with his homework and was very grateful to Asuka. Has an act of gratitude he prepared the snacks. He took small scoop-able tortilla chips and put together a big rack of little bite sized tacos made with Asuka's favorite ground sausage.

Misato was very careful to pick a movie everyone would enjoy. It was an edgy comedy, but nowhere near as wild as the one Shinji and Asuka watched the other night. It was about a wild college guy who lives to do nothing, but party. His father pulls his money, and the guy hires his skills for planning parties out to anyone who is willing to pay. There was a rather gross scene with some very "special" desserts. Asuka had covered her eyes during that scene. At the end of the movie Misato was wiping a tear of laughter from her eye as she changed the channel. Asuka asked for the remote and Misato tossed it to her.

Asuka mostly just surfed the channels for a few minutes until she came to something that caught her interest. She barely watched it. She just kept eating Shinji's snacks and flipping through some magazines. Misato relaxed and talked with Shinji casually for the rest of the night.

"Night kids." Misato said. "Thanks for cooking Shinji. Those were really good. Be sure to write those chips down on the grocery list for next time." She walked past Shinji and stroked the back of his hair. It sent tingles down his back.

"Yeah, they were good." said Asuka dropping the last taco chip in her mouth. "Night Misato. Night Third." Asuka got up and walking past Shinji she smacked him in the head. She walked into her room and shut the door.

Shinji gathered the dishes and washed them. He went to his room and turned out the light. He took a quick glance around the dark room. He sniffed the air checking for a scent. Not finding anything odd he laid down and smiled. It was a nice dream that found him that night.

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Asuka woke up late Saturday. Tucked under her blanket she stretched and groaned. She reached for her alarm clock to check the time. "Damn, running late." she says dropping the clock to the floor. Tossing the covers off she can still feel the chill in the air. "_If I ever get my hands on that jerk who is suppose to get this fixed I'm shoving his wrench right up his ass."_ she thinks.

Asuka passed her mirror and stopped. She examined herself. Seeing these baggy clothes she frowns. She pulls the clothes taunt to her skin and strikes several poses. Trying to improve how she looks in these grown woman's clothes if they would fit. Letting go she huffs in frustration. "Maybe Hikari will be up for some shopping after the arcade." she says. Scratching her head she walks out of her room.

First site greeting her is Shinji sitting at the table listening to his SDAT player. Pen-pen sits in the seat next to him and just watches. He's wearing a reversed yellow hat, red shirt, green drawstring shorts, and sneakers. Asuka glances over him and thinks, "_Hmm, looks like he can dress himself when he wants to."_. She walks past him to the bathroom. She freshens up, combs her hair, and walks back into her room to dress.

Opening her closet she scans for some cute outfit. She grabs a black shirt with orange sleeves, blue military short-shorts, thin black knees socks, red shoes, and a red visor from her closet. Asuka dresses, and stands in front of the mirror again. Fixing her hair she avoids her neural clips and instead picks her red hair bows. Fixing her makeup she spins in front of the mirror to examine her work. Smiling she thinks, "_Mmm, Cute."_. Winking to herself she walks out of her room.

Shinji is still sitting there listening to his player. Asuka shakes her head in frustration and grabs some peanut butter toast with orange juice. Only now does she notice Misato sitting and watching TV. She glances at her watch. It's time for her to leave if she is going to meet up with Hikari. "Misato, I'm going out." she says. "I got my phone."

"I'm going out too." says Shinji sitting up. Asuka looks to him for a second, but just walks out the door. "Bye kids. Be careful." Misato calls out to them.

The pilots walked for about five blocks when Asuka noticed that Shinji was still behind her. Spinning on her heel she looking to Shinji. "Quit following me!" she says, and stomps on his foot.

"Ow! What was that for?" says the shocked boy.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"The… arcade. Hikari, invited me."

Asuka looks confused. "Hikari what? She didn't tell me-"

"ASUKA! Ikari-kun! Hey!" Asuka is cut off by Hikari in the distance running toward them. Shinji is bouncing on one foot and Asuka looks angry and confused. Hikari runs up to them panting. She's dressed rather casual for the usually modest class representative. A striped shirt and coverall styled dress, knee length skirt. Smiling brightly she rests her hands on her knees and tries to regain her breath. "I'm so glad you two are here. " she says. "Is Touji here yet?"

"Touji?" asks an angry Asuka. "Who all did you invite?" Hikari gives a weak smile. She opens her mouth, but before she can start to explain another person turns the corner.

"Hey all." Touji comes around and he's dressed as casual as usual. Jogging pants and shirt. Touji walks up to Shinji and gives him a punch in the arm. "Hey man. This should be great. I heard this arcade is jam packed with cool stuff." he says.

Asuka looks to her friend for a fast explanation, but Hikari isn't looking to her. She's staring at Touji. Her fingers are crossed, smiling, and blushing as she eyes him. Asuka looks from Hikari to Touji and back to her friend, and it all falls into place. "_She didn't."_ Asuka thinks. Grabbing Hikari by the arm she turns to the boys and says, "Stay Put!". She pulls Hikari a few yards away and the boys start their own conversation.

"You didn't do what I think you just did?" asks an infuriated Asuka.

"Huh?" says Hikari.

"You set yourself up on a blind date with that goofball."

"Oh, Asuka." Hikari says. Her plan found out. "I'm sorry. It's just. I- I just want him to see me as someone other then the class rep." She looks like she may cry. "I want him to see me as a girl who can have fun too."

"Then why are me and the idiot here too?"

"I was afraid. If I asked him to just go out with me he wouldn't come, and I knew if it was you and me he most certainly wouldn't come….. So I invited Shinji too." Hikari looked honestly upset. She bows her head and pleads with Asuka. Asuka just cracks under her compassion for her friend. "I take it you want me to keep Shinji busy so you can get all lovey-dovey with the block head?" Asuka says.

"Yes, Please."

"You set me up with Ikari didn't you?" Asuka asks with a narrow look. Hikari just smiles as a response. Huffing in disbelief. "Okay. ONLY, because I owe you one for teaching me that recipe." she says shaking her finger. Asuka not even looking to the boys grabs Hikari and starts walking. "Get a move on, Losers!"

Glancing back Asuka notices they haven't moved. "Schnell!" she hollers. Shinji just raises his finger and says, "Uh, aren't we waiting for Kensuke?".

"He was invited, right?" adds Touji.

Asuka glances to Hikari and the look on her face says she just realized a flaw in her plan. Reluctantly Asuka put together an idea. "We can't wait any longer." Asuka says. "If he's running late we can just meet him there. Now MOVE!". They all start walking and Hikari jumps to Asuka hugging her around the neck.

They arrived at the arcade. It was just as amazing as everyone had heard. Tons of fighter, sims, drivers, dance, and grabber games. The four of them played a few of the multi player games together and even competed as couples in the dance simulator. Asuka and Shinji won easily despite Shinji tripping at a few steps. At one point Hikari tripped and fell right into Touji's arms. Asuka was suspicious if that really was an accident.

"It's about lunch time." says Hikari. "Where do you all want to eat?"

"I saw they have vending machines in here" says Touji. "Looked like nice stuff too."

Everyone agreed to this and walked back and bought their food from the machines. Sandwiches, onion rings, fries, and sodas. They sat outside under some shade and ate their meals. Everyone was pretty happy with the food, but Asuka. "_Shinji makes these boxed things better."_ she thinks.

Once they were all about done with their meals Asuka and Hikari excused themselves to the bathroom. "Why do they always leave in packs?" asked Touji and Shinji just shrugged.

"You having fun, Asuka?"

"Yeah, this has been a pretty nice date."

Hikari thinks, _"She called it a date."_. "Could I ask one more favor?" she says smiling and flashing puppy dog eyes. Asuka just stands in silence waiting for the penny to drop. Hikari, not hearing a no, continues, "Could you take Shinji so me and Suzuhara can be alone?"

"Alright." Asuka says rolling her eyes.

The girls walked out freshened up. Before anyone could say much of anything Asuka grabbed Shinji by the wrist. She says, "Come on, Idiot. I want to play the grabbers.". She glances back and sees Hikari and Touji sitting and looking rather adorable. Asuka tried several times on the claw machine to catch this little red teddy bear. She loved it, because it was the same color as her Eva. It grabbed every time, but slipped from the claws grip. "Ach!" she hollered as it missed for the fifth time. "It's a freakin' jip! It's rigged!" She proceeded to start kicking it. Shinji just stood in silence as she has gathered a crowd from her outburst. "Can I try?" he asks.

Asuka stands a side to give him a try. Shinji is very skilled and catches the red bear on the first try. He grabs it from the door and hands it to Asuka. "You can have it. It's too girlie for me." he says. She looks down to it and to Shinji. She smiles and take it from him. She slips it under her belt so she wont have to carry it. A game catches her eye. Laughing she grabs Shinji by his collar and pulls him to the robot fighter.

They climb into the pilot seats. "Get ready for some punishment, maggot." Asuka laughs. They play several rounds. They even gather a small crowd to watch on the screen above. Asuka wins the first few matches. When Shinji won two she got frustrated. Something caught her eye about the way he was playing. She purposely left her guard open and noticed Shinji made no effort at all to attack. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" says Asuka. Shinji just looks surprised.

"Sorry." he says. He climbs out of the seat with the game still in progress. Asuka has already gotten out and is making her way to him. As soon as he gets out Asuka is standing there.

"You JERK!" she yells poking him in the chest. "You were going easy on me!"

"Just that once. I-I'm sorry I didn-" he stutters.

"I don't need you to go easy on me, Third Child! Just… get out of my face! I hate you!" she pushes Shinji and runs past the gathered crowd, head down and very upset. Shinji collides with a machine and falls to the ground, his hat falling off.

"Does she yell at you like that all the time?" asks someone behind him. Shinji climbs to his feet and sees who is talking.

"Oh, You're Mana." says Shinji. Mana is wearing a white button up shirt and a short plaid skirt, a small bookbag slung around her shoulder. The girl smiles and hands Shinji his hat. He takes it from her. "Thanks."

"So does your girlfriend always treat you like that?"

"Yeah, but she's not my girlfriend." he looks to where Asuka had run off, but doesn't see her.

"Oh." says Mana smiling. "I only asked, because I sort of know about being in a bad relationship." Shinji knows she is talking about that ball player. "I don't know if you know this, but I work for the school paper."

"Yeah, I heard."

"Well, The school year is almost over and I'm planning a special year end edition. I'd love to get an interview with a pilot of the Eva." Mana says hopefully.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to talk to the others?"

"I tried talking to Ayanami a while back. Before you came to town. Only thing she said was that she would only talk with me if she was ordered to. Weird, huh?"

"There's Asuka." Shinji says pointing toward the direction she ran off.

"Well, like most of the girls in school. I'm a little afraid of her." Mana says with a laugh. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a small card. "Here. This is my number. Give me a call and we can set up an interview."

Shinji takes the card and says, "I'm not sure if I can. Lot of the stuff is classified and-"

"Oh no." Mana interrupts. "I'm not looking for details about the robots or anything like that. I just want to know about the pilots. Who they are."

"I'll have to ask. If they're okay with it I guess I could." He puts the card into his pocket and feels a sudden, sharp pull on his ear. He sees Asuka dragging him out the enterance and into the streets. She seems very upset. Once she has dragged him several blocks away she lets him go. Shaking in fury she spins to face him.

"Tell me right now!" she yells pointing to the ground. "What did you think you were doing?"

"S-sorry." he stammers.

"STOP THAT! I don't need pity from anyone. Tell me now Shinji and don't you say 'Sorry'!" she says now pointing to him.

Shinji wants to tell her, but thinks, "_I can't tell her. I'll just make things worse."_. He just stands there looking to the ground and wont say anything.

Asuka looks like she doesn't know if she wants to scream or cry she is so upset. "You're such a coward." She storms off further into the city. "I can't even look at you. Just go home, Idiot. And don't follow me!"

Shinji just stands in place. She is three blocks away and he says, "I-I'm sorry.".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a long slow walk home for Shinji. He thought about going to tell Hikari and Touji he was leaving, but he felt like he made Asuka angry enough. He didn't want to chance upsetting her more by disobeying her order. He walked into the apartment and was surprised how hot it was. It was warm outside, but it felt worse in here.

"I'm home." he called out.

"Hey Shin-chan." calls Misato from the balcony. Shinji walks in and see her sunning herself in a tight bikini, purple that barely coveres much of anything. Her skin has a sheen from the oil that covers every inch of her skin. Misato walks in and gives Shinji a hug. "Are you okay Shinji? Your shaking and the AC isn't working." Misato lets him go an she walks to the fridge. "Get this. The tech finally came to look at the conditioning for the building. He cut off all that cold air, but wouldn't you know. He didn't have all the parts to fix it. Now we have no cool air." Misato grabs herself a beer and sits at the table.

She just now notices the look on his face. "Shin-chan, what's wrong?"

He sits down across from her and says, "I messed things up. Asuka's angry with me."

"_Damn, and things were going so well."_ she thinks.

"Oh, there was some girl from school. She wants to interview me. Not about the Eva's just about the pilots. Is that a problem?"

Misato sits thinking for a second. "I don't see why not. You can talk about yourselves, but nothing about NERV or the Evas."

"Okay."

"Oh, one more thing." she smile. "When you get to me be sure she spells my name right."

Misato stayed in her bikini much to Shinji's frustration. He is too timid to look as he talks with her in fear he may begin to stare. The more drunk she got the more affectionate she became. "So Shinji. When did Asuka say she was coming home?" Shinji just shrugged his shoulders.

Asuka came walking in the door a few hours later. She was carrying two shopping bags. Still frowning and rather upset. She ignored Shinji, but was shocked by Misato. Holding her tongue on what was on her mind she asked another question. "Why is it so hot in here now?"

Misato told her all about how the AC was no longer working. "Verdammt!" Asuka hollers stomping her foot. "It figures just when I go out and get some warmer clothes to sleep in." She storms into her room. Asuka drops her bags and notices the red teddy bear under her belt. She removes it and just stares at it. Gently petting it.

"Why do I still have this?" She tosses it across her room and it hit's the wall. "Stupid, Shinji." She falls on her bed, hugs her pillow, and just lays till the sun starts to set.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misato ordered several pizzas for dinner. There was a meat lovers, for Asuka; an extra anchovy, for Pen-pen ; and a ham and pineapple for Shinji and herself. Shinji, on Misato's request, tried knocking on the door to tell Asuka dinner was here, but got no response. Asuka didn't come out until Misato called for her.

Misato had changed into the same clothes she wore on the sleepover movie night, and Asuka walked out in the same tight shirt and small tight shorts. Asuka sat silently through dinner. Misato asked Shinji about his day. He tried very hard to avoid anything that had to do with the event at the arcade that made Asuka so upset. They weren't talking with each other so Misato engaged them seperately. She thought if they heard the other talk they might be more comfortable to talk.

Misato then brought up that they had to get plenty of sleep tonight for their synchronization tests that they had tomorrow. There was also talk about war games and battle simulations. Asuka seemed interested and would on occasion glare at Shinji. This behavior eventually got to Misato.

"Asuka, is something wrong?" asks Misato.

This seemed to hit the pressure valve on the red head. "I'm just sick!" Asuka says standing. Her resolve noticeably weakened as she glanced to Shinji for just a second before returning her eyes to Misato. "I'm sick of the 'Invincible Shinji' treating me like some weak child. He's a JERK."

Shinji looked like he was about to say something until Asuka regained that lost passion and said, "And I'm sick of you." Misato just sits confused as Asuka was now pointing to her. Shinji lost his thought and Misato had no idea what she has done. "You're always getting drunk and pawing all over him, going out with my Kaji, and dressing like some tramp."

"_She does realize she's wearing the same stuff?"_ Misato asks herself.

Asuka pointing to Shinji who sits quietly as Asuka vents. "Don't you know how impressionable this idiot is?"

"Hey! I wasn-" was all Shinji was able to say before-

"Aggh!" Asuka yells, storms into her room, and slams the door behind her. Misato and Shinji just sit in silence.

Confused Misato walks into her room. Shinji reaches into his pocket and pulls out the card with Mana's number. He picks up the phone and sits at the dinner table. His hand shaking he dials the number. The phone rings a personalized tone. A few seconds later the line is answered. "H-hello. Is Mana there?"

"Oh, hi."

"I talked with my guardian and she say's it's alright."

"We just can't say anything about NERV or the Evas."

"I'm not sure."

"Okay."

"When do you want to do this?"

"No. Not tomorrow. We have some tests and I'm not sure if there will be anything else."

"Monday is fine."

"Where?"

"I guess. The ice-cream shop on Main Street? I know where that is."

"Yeah that's good."

"I-I'm not sure."

"Maybe."

"See you then."

Shinji hangs up the line. He starts to get up and notices that Asuka's door is slightly ajar. He tries to look into the dark room from where he is standing, but the door suddenly slams shut. He looks to the door and mumbles. "I'm sorry, Asuka. You're not weak...I am."

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To Be Continued...  
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	5. The Katsuragi Scenario

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: Yet again another LONG chapter. To tell you the truth this chapter was designed to be twice as long. These scenes were just too good to let them slide by with little description. This chapter was going to have a rather shocking end, but I'm going to save that for the next chapter. How's that for a tease? There is a small bit of fan service in this chapter.

I always look forward to reviews. I like to hear questions from people. Just so you know. Just about everything is plotted out. Just because one chapter doesn't explain something doesn't mean you wont get an answer by the end.

You got to feel sorry for Shinji in that last chapter. Pour guy didn't even know he was on a date. Sounds unfair to me.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Katsuragi Scenario**

By five in the morning, Misato very reluctantly dragged herself out of bed. She had a splitting headache. Grumbling as she pulled herself to her feet, and wondered what happened to her shirt. She seriously considered that her friend, Ritsuko, scheduled these sychrinization tests this early on the weekends just to torture her. It was raining outside. The clouds blocking the first signs of daylight. Misato thanked heaven for small favors. She took a deep cleansing breath as she braced herself on the dressers. When her eyes opened she saw her fathers cross. He was far from an idol father, but when it came to it he sacrificed himself to save her.

Her conflicting emotions were obruptly ended as the sounds of cooking in the kitchen caught her attention. Her thoughts now started to wonder on the events of the other night. Misato came out of her room a short time after Asuka's rather confusing outburst. Shinji was on his feet and looking to Asuka's door.

"Shin-chan," Misato said. "Who were you talking to?"

"That girl from the school paper. Asked her when she wants to do that interview."

"Shinji" she said in surprise. "Did you just ask a girl out on a date?"

"No." he replies flatly. "We're just meeting at the ice cream place to talk."

"Sounds like a date to me." Misato sang as she walked to the fridge to claim her next beer.

"Just drop it." Shinji snapped back. The anger in his tone caught Misato off guard. She helped Shinji gather up the glasses and empty pizza boxes. She thought about asking him for more details of what happened that day, but thought it probably best to let both of the teens decompress. Asuka only came out of her room a handful of times. Only to go to the bathroom, fridge, or claim the phone to take back into her room.

Last night was certainly interesting. Misato straightened herself, found her shirt, took another deep breath, and walked through her door.

"Good morning, Misato." Shinji says in a cheery morning tone.

"Mmm, Morning." she replies. Blinded for a second as her eyes adjusted to the lights. Misato made her way to the fridge and collected a beer. She sat down and took a deep chug from her can. "YEEAAAHHHH!" Misato hollers and slams down her beer. "That smells soooooo good, Shinji. What are you cooking?"

"Stuffed French toast."

"_Asuka's favorite. Trying to earn some points huh?"_ Misato thought. "You didn't have to get up early to cook. We have some pizza left over." Shinji just gave Misato a disturbed look. "What! Cold pizza and beer make a great breakfast. I'd even let you have some beer." Misato spoke with a playful tone.

"I can't."

"Why not." She says waving her beer to tempt the boy. "Just a sip."

"I'm a minor."

"Ah, I thought teens are suppose to rebel." she says in mock disappointment.

"I am." Shinji says with a cute smile. They share a short laugh.

"I take it Asuka's not up yet."

"No." he says going back to the cooking.

"I'll get her." Misato gets up and slowly slides open the door. "Asuka, you up?" Misato says softly. Not getting a reply she walks into the lions den. She sees Asuka under the covers, feet exposed, clutching a red and white teddy bear. Misato was about to place her hand on Asuka when she suddenly started to mumble something in her sleep. "Lass mich doch… nicht,… Shinji." mumbles Asuka. Misato is confused by everything, but the last word. She had worked for NERV's German branch years ago, but was far out of practice in her German. _"If you don't use it every day."_ Misato thinks in frustration. She stands there watching over the lovely red-head and considers letting her continue this dream. She had to get up though or they would be late.

She gently placed her hand on Asuka's shoulder and rocked the girl. "Aaaasuka." She softly says. "Asuka, it's time to get up."

Asuka's eyes slowly open and tries to adjust to the dark room. "Morgen." She says with a week smile.

"That's a really cute bear." says Misato. "Is that new?"

Asuka looks surprised by the question, but even more so as she looks to the bear in her arms. "Did you put this is my bed?" she asks.

"No. You were hugging it when I came in." Misato answers. "You need to get up. You can have the bathroom first. We need to leave before six if we want to get there in time." Misato walks out, softly closing the door, and leaving Asuka looking to her red bear.

Asuka came out of her room a minute after Misato left. Stretching her arms and yawning. Shinji greeted her as she walks past him and to the bathroom. She just gives him the same German morning greeting, she gave Misato, as she rubs her eyes.

Misato had finished her breakfast and was talking casually with Shinji by the time Asuka exited the bathroom. Misato walked to the bathroom door and watched as Asuka sat down to breakfast. She seemed very happy with the breakfast, pouring on syrup and powdered sugar. The two sat silently at the table eating and Misato just crossed her fingers hoping this ceasefire would hold by the time they left.

Wishes do come true. Shinji and Asuka may not of been overflowing with emotions to each other, but they were courteous. Misato went from hung over to all business when they left for NERV in Misato's car. Asuka sat in the back trying to get a few more moments rest, and Shinji just sat quietly looking out the window. Misato had to fill the silence with the radio.

The stoic Rei was just arriving as they did. "Morning, Rei." calls out Misato.

Rei stopped to return the greeting. "Good morning, Major Katsuragi. Pilot Ikari. Pilot Soryu." Shinji was cheerful as he talked with Rei and Asuka was closer to indifferent. Misato escorted the chosen through the halls of NERV till they reached their cross roads. "Well, you kids get ready. I need to go find Ritsuko and tell her we're here." says Misato.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tests were well into an hour before they were done. Ritsuko, Misato, and Maya were sitting in the test observation room. The screens showed all the children and their synch rations. Maya typed on her laptop to record the data. Ritsuko leaned over her shoulder to examine.

"How's the results?" asks Misato.

"Rei is up this week by about two points. Asuka and Shinji are both down three." says Maya.

"Is that a problem?" asks Misato.

"I don't think it's too much to be concerned about just yet." says Ritsuko. She picks up her clipboard and makes several notes. She puts down her clipboard, and groans as she rubs her neck. "Is there any coffee left?"

"Yeah." Misato says. She makes her way to the table to get her friend a cup. "Maya you want some?"

"No thanks, Major." she replies.

Misato returns with the coffee and hands it to a great full Ritsuko. "Mmmm, Thanks." she says and takes a slow sip.

"I don't see how you can drink that stuff black." says a disturbed Misato.

"I don't get how you can drink beer first thing in the morning." They both walk up to the table and Misato pours herself a cup of coffee, adding sugar and double cream. Ritsuko is surprised she didn't get any remark back on her comment. "So, how are things with your cupid impersonation."

"Things were going pretty well, but they had some argument and now… I don't know." says Misato and she sits at the edge of the table.

"Well, tampering in teenage hormones isn't easy."

"I think they just need a little time apart to cool down." Misato taps her nails on the table and comes up with a plan. "You have any plans today?"

"No. Just need to get this test done, then I'm going home." Ritsuko says. "Why?"

"I think I have an idea. Call the kids in. I need to find Kaji."

"Okay, but I'm timing you." Ritsuko says, implying something improper.

"Oh Shut Up!" yells Misato as she runs out of the room.

Ritsuko smiles as she sips her coffee. "Maya, call them in please."

Maya gives the kids the all clear and the orders to report to the observation room. All three reported and Ritsuko told them the results. Asuka was upset from the drop in her test results. Once dismissed she briskly walked from the room. "Asuka, don't be like that." Shinji called after her.

She was upset as she made her way to the lockers. She was heading back to Misato's car when someone called her from behind. "Hey, Asuka! Wait up!"

Misato was running up from behind Asuka. They met up and started walking again. "I just left Ritsuko. We're going out for some fun and then lunch. Want to join us?" asks Misato.

"Sure." says Asuka. She suddenly stops in her tracks. "Is Shinji coming?"

"Nope." Misato says with a smile. "It's more of a girl's day. In fact I need to go tell Shinji we're going out. I'll meet you back at the car." Misato started to run back into NERV HQ. "I need to go take care of that and find Rei."

Asuka walks quietly. Her mood improved by the idea of a day out with grown women. She goes to Misato's car. She climbs into the back seat to lay down and grab a few more moments rest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rain had stopped. The sky was bright and clear. The only way you could tell it had rained was from the damp soil and patches of moister on the roads. Shinji walked in rather tired from the boring train ride home. The house was no longer so hot. He only guessed that the tech had finally repaired the apartments air conditioning. He walked in and was greeted by a qwarking sound. Pen-pen was sitting in a beanbag watching the TV that Misato had left on for him. Shinji grabbed a melon freezer pop and soda. He took a seat next to Pen-pen. They watched TV for about forty minutes and Shinji fell asleep.

He woke a few hours later and looked to the clock. It was nearly lunch time. He was just getting to his feet as the door bell rang. "Coming." he said. Opening the door he saw Kaji. He had his usual sly smile, but he also had a bandage wrapped twice around his head.

"Hey, Shinji." Kaji says with a cheerful wave. "Katsuragi here?"

"No. Her and Asuka left. I don't know when they'll be back."

Kaji didn't seem surprised or at all disappointed by this. "Oh well. Why don't you come join me for lunch? My treat."

He thinks, "_He knows I'm a boy right?"_ "I don't know-"

"Come now." says Kaji cutting him off. "You can't eat by yourself. It's bad for the digestion."

Shinji thinks for a second and says, "Okay. Just let me feed Pen-pen." Kaji walks in behind Shinji. Shinji sets out some fish for Pen-pen to eat.

"So Shinji," says Kaji. "how's life living with two beautiful women?"

Shinji stands up and sees Kaji peaking into Misato's room. "Confusing." Shinji says. Shinji closes the door slowly almost catching Kaji's nose.

"I bet." says Kaji laughing. He slips his arm over Shinji shoulder and holds him like a life long friend.

"Uh, Kaji." Shinji says looking to the bandages wrapped over Kaji's brow. "What happened to your head?"

Kaji rubs his head embarrassed. He chuckles and says, "Oh, this? Well, I had my seat pulled out from under me." Shinji just knew he must of said something to Misato.

They walk out the door and Kaji asks him what he is in mood to eat. They get into Kaji's car and drive into Tokyo-3.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

People of the city were all about. The sun just seemed to improve everyone's mood. Asuka, Ritsuko, Misato and Rei traveled through the city shops. While most of the girls laughed and joked. Rei was mostly just… there. She asked a few questions, and everyone tried to be helpful. The only question none of them wanted to touch was when they went into a lingerie store and Rei asked, "Why would someone want underwear with a hole down the middle?" After a few awkward moments Asuka was the one who made a comment. She said, "Only perverts want that crap.". Misato tried to hide that her face had gone suddenly red.

Asuka probably had the most fun she had ever had with Rei. In one store she tried to put together a whole new look for Rei. The whole lot of them tried on far more then they actually bought. Asuka bought some shirts, a skirt, some hair bows, and a new bra and panty set that she thought was more grown up. At least as grown up as Misato would allow. Ritsuko bought a new skirt and watch. Misato purchased some jeans, and a couple tops. Rei bought two books, a note pad, pens, and was practically ordered to buy herself some new clothes. She picked a modest blouse and skirt. Asuka just rolled her eyes and said she looks like a teacher.

As lunch time came around, but none of them could settle on a single place to eat. The winner was picked through a game of Janken. Ritsuko was the winner. They sat down to a nice Italian style bistro. The women chatted about movies, music, and how sick they were of the news being obsessed with certain celebrities lives. Only real confrontation happened when Misato caught Asuka trying to sneak a piece of bacon into Rei's salad. Ritsuko also berated Misato for how much she was drinking in front of the children, and the fuss put up when Misato found out they had a drink limit.

They walked around to burn those calories, and enjoy the sun. Misato was lagging behind with Rei. They were on Main Street when Asuka stopped in front of a store with outdoor tables. She glanced around the street as if she was looking for something. "Hey, let's get some ice cream here." she said. Everyone agreed, but it was Rei who noticed Asuka's unusual interest in this place.

Asuka got a triple scoop of watermelon sorbet in a cup, Ritsuko bought peach ice cream, Misato chose a personal banana split with extra strawberries, and Rei selected vanilla ice cream with chopped nuts in a waffle cone. Misato had lost a bit of her composer, and was often finding herself getting glaring looks from Ritsuko as she told some stories of her past.

"So, I told Kaji." Misato says. "If you're not hitting on women when you talk. You'd be a mime." Everyone laughed, but Rei who just smiled.

"You know. I hear you go on a lot about the past, but I don't think it's as bad as you say." says Ritsuko. "In fact. I don't remember you doing a whole lot of complaining at the time." Misato just glared at her friend and then smiled

"Okay. He's alright." Misato clenches her fists in frustration and says, "Just GOD. He could be such a jerk.".

Asuka raised her hand as if she was to testify in court. "All men are pigs. Plain and simple." she says. Misato giggled.

"I don't think all men are pigs." says Rei. Everyone glanced to Rei.

Asuka says flatly, "Name one.".

"Shinji Ikari."

"Oh PLEASE." says Asuka almost laughing. "That idiot is like… King Pig. Did you know he even admitted trying to kiss me in my sleep?"

"No." says Rei, more interested in her cone.

Asuka glared at Rei. "You like him don't you."

"Yes, I do like him."

Asuka's eyes were now boring a hole into Rei. "Do you love him?"

There was a short silence as they all waited for Rei's response. "I don't know…" was all Rei said.

Misato saw the look of death in Asuka's eyes. She thought it best to step in. "Asuka, don't you think you're being a little unfair to Shin-chan?" Misato said, deflecting Asuka's attention. "Can you honestly tell me Shinji is the biggest pig you know?"

Asuka went into thought. Several names popped into mind with little effort. Suzuhara, Aida, and about twenty other boys from school. The list in her mind just seem to pile on and on until she gave up. "Okay. Maybe he isn't 'King', but he's definitely in the top five." she lies.

"I always thought he was a rather sweet child." says Ritsuko.

"Huh?" says Asuka and Misato. Rei just glances to Ritsuko.

"I met him once as a child." Ritsuko says. "I also met his mother a few times."

"Really, Ritsu?" says Misato. "I never knew that."

"What was she like? Shinji's mother." Asuka asked.

"Well, I didn't get to really 'know' her all too well before she died. I guess the only thing I could really say about her was that… she was a good mother." Ritsuko looks into Asuka eyes. She thinks, "_You two share more then you know."_.

"Too bad Maya couldn't join us." says Misato to Ritsuko.

"Yeah, her shift doesn't end till two." Ritsuko picks up a sealed cup of ice cream. "I'm taking her this little treat before I head home."

It was Asuka who spoke next. "Misato. I want to apologize about last night. Calling you a tramp."

Misato cut her off by resting her hand on her shoulder. "It's all forgiven. Let's just move on."

"Anyways, it's not like she was wrong." says Ritsuko.

Asuka laughs and Misato raises her banana split as if she was about to throw it. "Oh, so you want to wear this?" says Misato. The mood improved notably after that. The girls shared jokes and stupid stories. Asuka was incredibly frustrated by her inability make Rei even giggle. She was able to make Rei blush by whispering something into her ear. Both Misato and Ritsuko were not sure they even wanted to know what Asuka had said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not two blocks away from the women, in the deli, sat Kaji and Shinji. Kaji had expected that Shinji would want to pick a fat food restraint. He was pleasantly surprised when Shinji selected a place that made fresh hot sandwiches. He normally ate a lot like Misato did before Shinji moved in with her. Instant ramen, micro waved curry dishes, and lots of fast food. Both Shinji and Kaji ordered turkey sandwiches with bacon and cheese on some sort of fancy bread that had basil in it.

"So do you cook like this for Katsuragi?" Kaji asks.

"Not like this really, but I do try and make good meals." says Shinji.

"Well, now I'm just jealous."

"You could always come over for dinner some time. I don't mind cooking for people."

"Mr. Ikari, is that an invitation?"

"I guess."

"Well then I'll be sure to remember that." Kaji and Shinji enjoyed there meal and he asked, "How's Asuka been?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Because I'm asking you." Kaji says. His smile turning to concern. "Is something wrong at home?"

"Yeah." Shinji tells Kaji of the events at the arcade. The good and the bad.

"So why did you do it?" Kaji asks.

"When she wins she's happy. She got upset when I won."

"She got upset, but not angry." Kaji doesn't ask. It was more of a statement. Shinji took notice. "Shinji, Asuka is a proud girl. She may not like to lose, but when you go easy on her and let her win you show her that you don't respect her."

"But I do." says Shinji. "She's strong. I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted her to be happy."

"Did you tell her that?"

"No. I was too afraid. I really don't think she likes me."

"Why would you say that? She is living with you." Kaji says, pointing out the obvious.

"She only moved in to destroy the seventh Angel."

"But Shinji. She's still there. If she wasn't enjoying herself she could of easily moved somewhere else." Shinji just sat there. The thought that she could of left at any time had never really occurred to him before.

"It's all about respect, Shinji." says Kaji.

Shinji smiles to himself. "Misato told me that. She was telling me that if I did whatever a woman told me to do she wouldn't respect me."

"She's a smart woman." says Kaji. "This is what I want you to do next time Asuka tells you to do something. Just say 'No'. Don't be rude. Just tell her you don't want to. Then a few minutes later. I want YOU to suggest something you can both do together. Something you know she'll enjoy."

Shinji wasn't so sure, but he agreed to at least give it a try once. Nervously, Shinji asks Kaji a question. "How do you tell if a person likes you?"

Kaji laughs and says, "That's easy. All you need to do is smile at them." Shinji gave Kaji a skeptical gaze. "When you smile they know you care. If they smile back at you that means they care about you too."

"That seems awfully simple."

"Often times the answer to a complex question is a simple one." Kaji says in a matter of fact tone. "I do have one tip for when you find a woman you love."

Shinji is completely caught off guard by this topic, but he finds himself ready to listen to every word. "Mind you this probably wont apply in the summer, but it's still a good tip." says Kaji, and Shinji wondered why he was telling him. "On a cold day. When your girl goes into the shower. Take her bathrobe and put it in the dryer. When you hear the water stop. Take the robe out and greet her with a warm fluffy robe. I guaranty you she will melt."

Shinji asks, "Did you do that for Misato?"

Kaji sat silently with a smile that told Shinji he was lost in a memory. Kaji took a deep breath and said, "Well, since we are both done I best get you home. Don't want Katsuragi to think I'm trying to steal you away.".Shinji actually enjoyed the drive home. Kaji was a much more skilled driver then Misato. No zooming through lights or near misses. When Kaji stopped Shinji didn't feel the need to kiss the ground.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaji got Shinji home well in time before Misato and Asuka got home. Shinji asked Kaji if he wanted to wait for Misato inside, but Kaji declined the offer. "Places to go, Mr. Ikari. No need to tell her I was even here." was all Kaji said as he left. Shinji put up Pen-pen's empty dish and found him right back on the bean bag chair in front of the TV. Shinji grabbed the seat he had earlier and enjoy the show that had the penguins attention.

Misato and Asuka walked in smiling and laughing. They greeted Shinji and took their new purchases to their rooms. Asuka walked out wearing her new hair bows. Misato apologized for getting home so late, and asked if he was bored all alone. He just said he was fine.

Misato and Asuka seemed to have some sort of silent agreement going. One of the rules that was set on their girls day out was that nothing said was to be talked about with any boy. Asuka was a lot kinder to Shinji since she got back. She got herself a glass of orange juice and sat next to him and watched TV.

About an hour later Asuka looked to Shinji and says, "Shinji, make some of those little tacos. Those were good.",

Shinji was about to sit up and get to work when Kaji's advice came back to him. _"Just give it a try, and pray I don't get hurt."_ he thinks. He takes a breath and with little emotion says, "No."

Asuka was shocked. "Why?" she asks.

"Cause I don't want to right now." He was very polite in his tone as he flipped channels. Asuka was stuck to find her words and trying to identify the boy before her. She wanted to complain, but it wasn't like he was rude about it.

Shinji keeps glancing to the clock. He thinks, _"When Kaji said wait a few minutes how many did he mean?"_. Shinji racked his brain to think of something they could do together. Fifteen minutes pass and Shinji asks her, "Hey Asuka. Want to help me make an apple crisp?"

Asuka just smiles. "Sure."

The two worked well together as Shinji walked her through the steps to make a delicious apple crisp. Shinji peeled and Asuka chopped. He had tips like using a variety of different apples, adding more cinnamon and nutmeg, and making twice the crisp the original recipe called for. They put it in the oven and a few minutes later Misato came out of her room.

"Oh what is that heavenly smell." moans Misato.

Asuka nearly leaped at the chance to tell Misato they had made an apple crisp. She even volunteered to run to the corner store to get some vanilla ice cream when Misato pointed out they were out. All three of them enjoyed their dessert before dinner that night.

Shinji had to test something. He looked up across the table to Asuka. He waited till she caught his gaze and he smiled. She gave him a confused look, then he looked away. If only he had just kept this connection for a second longer he would of seen Asuka smile back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
To Be Continued...  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Lies Behind a Truth

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: My longest chapter to date. It really needed to be though. When this chapter is over you will understand. There will be some typos in this chapter. I will be scanning the page quite a few times for the accidental ones, but some are there by design. You'll see. So please lay off on the typo comments in reviews.

Didn't you just want to slap Shinji upside the head at the end of that last. That's what I wanted you to feel at least. In that moment I think you really start to connect with Asuka as well. I wasn't sure about adding Rei into the whole Girls Day scene. Once I started writing it though I saw she was perfect to bring in some laughs. I really wonder if many people understood Misato's reaction to Asuka's comment about the underwear. I think it was also a bit obvious as to why Kaji just showed up to take Shinji out.

I took a big leap this time with commenting that Ritsuko might of met Yui and maybe Shinji. I don't think that's too far beyond belief. Ritsuko was around helping her mother. I wasn't saying they were close at all.

Mana makes her return. I so so so so so look forward to the reviews and comments after you are done reading this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Lies Behind a Truth**

The day had just begun for Shinji. He had his day pretty much planned out. It was one of the first times Shinji had something planned to do after school that didn't involve the Evas. Today was his- interview. Mana was expecting him a few hours after school. What could they even talk about? Why did he even agree to this? His head was hidden under his pillow. "_I can't think with all that noise."_ he thinks. Out in the kitchen Misato and Asuka were having some kind of argument.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"Go!"

"Ha ha!"

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"Go!"

"Yeah!"

"Hey! You cheated."

"I did NOT!"

Shinji sits up on his bed. Hanging his head in frustration. He scratches his belly and stares at the floor.

"Come on best five out of seven."

"I should get it. It's my day off and I'm taking it to Ritsuko. I promised her last night."

"Liar! You had four servings last night. You're going to get a gut."

"Ohhhh, that's low…"

"I made it anyways."

"You helped."

"At least I worked on it."

Shinji stood up at his door. He tried to summon the courage to open his door. It's too bad the only escape route was past the arguing women. He took a deep breath and took the plunge. He opened his door and was suddenly met with the intense gaze of Misato and Asuka. They were standing at opposite ends of the table on their feet. Pen-pen is by the table with a look like he may jump up. At the center of the table was the object of their debate. A serving of the apple crisp left over from last night.

"Good, you're up." says Asuka looking to him. She smiles as if she was just dealt the last card in a royal flush.

"Oh, Shinjiiiii." Misato says seductively. She not so subtly starts to bend forward.

Asuka turns on Misato and yells, "Don't you try and sweet talk him, and quit trying to flash your cleavage! You pervert!"

"_You're just upset, cause you don't have any to show off."_ Misato thinks with a sly grin.

Asuka returns her blue eyes to Shinji. "Shinji, we made this dessert. Who should get the last bit?" she says. She smiles and bats her eyes. "Me," Her eyes narrow and in a nasty tone she continues, " or Misato?". Both start to try to make themselves look as tempting as they can. Asuka's attempt to look innocent might work if he didn't know her. Misato has gone back to her previous plot to show off her mature curves.

Shinji looks from one to the other. His brain is on fire. It's several long seconds until he comes up with the best plan for this situation. He quickly shuts this door with himself behind it.

"Feigling!" Asuka yells.

The girls argued for another fifteen minutes until they came to the obvious idea of splitting the apple treat. Once they had settled that Shinji felt free to exit the room and get into the bathroom to prepare for school. Shinji didn't see the spiteful look Asuka gave him for not picking her over Misato.

By the time he came out the two had done a quick change and were gossiping and laughing. Ever since that lunch they shared the two seemed to have become closer. They were even talking about going out shopping again.

"Shinji get out here now, or I'm leaving!" Asuka yelled waiting at the door. They wouldn't of been running so late if he didn't have to hide in his room earlier. He didn't even have time for much of a breakfast. He rushed out of his room and made a toaster pastry. Asuka was half way to the elevator while Shinji was bouncing around trying to get his shoes on. He passed Misato on his way out. He caught her eyes and smiled. His mood was lifted when he noticed her smile back and wish him a good day.

Shinji rushes to catch the elevator before it closes. He's huffing for his breath from the mad sprint. Asuka just chuckles and says under her breath, "Pathetic.".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At lunch Hikari made a passionate plea to let her eat alone with Touji. Seems the pseudo date that Hikari had set up with had gone just as she hoped. Asuka wasn't pleased to have to give up her favorite lunch partner. Sitting for a few minutes she looked for someone to join her. She didn't want to sit in silence to eat. That singled out Rei quickly. She grabbed Shinji by the wrist and told him that he was eating with her today.

On the roof Hikari and Touji were absent. Asuka and Shinji sat alone. When Kensuke tried to join them Asuka shooed him away. Dejected Kensuke sat with Rei. Ten minutes passed when Asuka started to drum her nails.

"Well don't just sit there like a log. Say something." Asuka snaps.

"Uh." Shinji mumbles. "Did you have fun yesterday with Misato?"

Asuka seems pleased with the topic. She says, "Yeah it was nice. Can't tell you the details though. It's above your clearance level." Asuka giggles, and Shinji is just confused.

"Why aren't Hikari and Touji here?"

"They're having lunch together. They might start dating now." she says with obvious disgust.

"What!" Shinji's yell catches both Kensuke's and Rei's attention.

"Keep quiet, Idiot." Asuka says backhanding his arm.

"When did this happen?"

"This weekend I think." she says to the surprised Shinji. "Didn't you notice today that he was calling Hikari by her name rather then 'Class Rep'."

"No."

"Boys." she says rolling her eyes.

"When we were alone he called her 'Hikari'. Just to her face he uses 'Class Rep'. " he says. "When did it start?"

"At the arcade."

"But if that was their date why were we there?"

"I don't know. Change the subject." Asuka snaps. The topic and events of Saturday seemed to hit a nerve.

As they walked through the school Asuka seemed to scan the halls as if watching out for someone. They met up with a very comfortable Hikari and Touji. Kensuke asked where he was, but he was pretty tight lipped. Shinji wasn't listening when someone called his name. "Hey, Ikari."

Mana appeared coming out of the ladies restroom. "H-hi Mana. About today I'm not-" Shinji says.

"Oh yeah. I can't wait to just pick your brain." She makes a little pinching motion to his head., causing Shinji to flinch. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Uh," Shinji was trying to back out, but the hope in Mana's eyes crushes his resolve. "Okay. What time?"

"How about five? That gives you enough time to get home and meet up right?"

"Yeah that's-"

"Get moving, Stupid!" Asuka says, pushing Shinji in the back forcing him further down the hall. "I don't want to be late."

"Bye, Ikari." Mana calls after Shinji in a sweet tone. "See you later for our date."

This claim causes Asuka to pause and spin to look at the girl behind them. Mana however has no idea as she is now walking casually back to her class. Anything Asuka wants to say would just get lost in the background noise of the crowd rushing through the halls. Girls pass Shinji giggling. He thinks, _"It's a date?"_. Passing girls giggle even more as they see him blushing.

Kensuke and Touji teased Shinji unmercifully. Hikari seemed to need to spend most of the day trying to bring Asuka from a boil to a steady simmer. It was hard for Hikari, because Asuka refused to even admit there was anything wrong.

Ten minutes till the dismissal bell Asuka saw an instant message on her laptop.

**ClassRep2-A:** Asuka, is Shinji really dating Mana?

**RED-Hot02:** Ask him. I don't know.

**ClassRep2-A:** …

**ClassRep2-A:** Are you okay?

**RED-Hot02: **why wouldn't I be?

**ClassRep2-A:** …

**ST-SENSHU** has entered the room.

**ST-SENSHU:** hi hikari

**ClassRep2-A:** ;-)

**RED-Hot02:** what's he doing in here?

**ST-SENSHU:** AHH AKUMA!

**ClassRep2-A:** I invited him.

**RED-Hot02:** Shut Up Touji!

**ST-SENSHU:** so asuka your hubbys having an affair with Mana?

**RED-Hot02:** So Touji, did you really bring Hikari a red rose sunday?

**RED-Hot02:** Sooo Sweet… cheapskate! LOL

**ClassRep2-A:** Both of you. Please stop!

**ST-SENSHU:** Shiji would be better off with someone whos not always being a BITCH

**RED-Hot02** has left the room.

**Shin-chan03** has entered the room.

**ClassRep2-A:** Touji why did you do that?

**Shin-chan03:** Did I miss something?

**ClassRep2-A:** Hi Shinji.

**ClassRep2-A:** Touji, we need to have a TALK today.

**ClassRep2-A** has left the room.

**ST-SENSHU:** oh boy that sounds like fun.

**Shin-chan03:** Fight with the Mrs.? lol

**STSENSHU:** shut up Ikari!

**STSENSHU** has left the room.

**Shin-chan03:** Alone again…

The final class bell rang three minutes later. Hikari as the class representative called for the class to stand and bow before being dismissed. Asuka bolted from the class like a bat out of hell. Not caring that such an abrupt action just caused more people to take notice. Hikari just turned and gave a very good impersonation of Asuka's favorite evil glare directed at Touji. The tough jock seemed to shrink several inches.

"Asuka had cleanup duty." Hikari says to herself, looking after her friend. She wanted to run after her, but she is also on duty.

"I'll help." says Touji timidly.

Hikari just turned on him. "I don't want to talk with you right now, Touji. Just go home. I'll call you later." Touji just went stiff as Hikari scolded him, and once she was done he ran out faster then Asuka had earlier. Hikari was groaning in frustration when the sound of desks being moved caught her attention. She looked to the source and saw Shinji shifting the desks around.

"Shinji what are you doing. It's Asuka's duty today." she says.

"I know." Shinji says. "I'll help. I don't want her to get into any trouble, and it's not right for you to do it alone."

Hikari stands there and smiles. She starts to help moving the desks. "I wouldn't turn her in. She's my friend, and you're a good friend too." she says.

"I guess." he says.

Shinji just gives a weak smile and helps Hikari clean the class. Before they part ways to head home Shinji pleaded for mercy for Touji. Hikari just smiles. She tells Shinji to hurry or he will be late for his interview. Shinji hardly seems that interested, but walks home at a much faster pace.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shinji was running late as he got home. Misato was sitting out on the patio with a magazine. Asuka was nowhere to be seen. Pen-pen was walking through the kitchen to bring his master a Yebisu beer. "I'm home, Misato." Shinji calls out, as he bolts into his room. Shinji throws on some comfortable shorts and shirt. Misato is standing at his door when he exits. She starts to open his mouth, but is cut off. "Please don't make any date jokes. I got enough of those at school." he says. Misato looks a little put out at her joke being ruined.

Misato starts to follow Shinji. She gentle rubs his back. "Shin-chan you alright?" she says in concern.

"Sorry Misato. I'm just running late."

"Oh, just stay cool and be yourself. You're a cutie I'm sure she'll take it easy on you."

"Uh, thanks." Shinji says, blushing. "Well, I'm out of here."

"Not without me, Third Child." Asuka's door slides open as Misato and Shinji pass. Both glance to her and stop dead in their tracks. Their eyes move in unison as they scan her up and down. She's wearing a comfortable short sleeves black shirt, choker, thigh high leggings, and a very tiny skirt.

"You're not going out like that!" Misato yells much louder then intended. She points to the small, frilly skirt. Misato catches a scent in the air. "Is that my lavender purfume?" Shinji just stands silent, blushing.

"What's wrong?" Asuka scowls. "It's warm out. Anyways I'll be with Shinji." She strides up to him and grabs him by the sleeve. If anyone tries anything perverted I'm sure he'll defend me." She stares him in the eye. "You will won't you?"

"Uh, um." he sputters still unable to form words. "_Her eyes are paralyzing."_ he thinks.

"I thought this was Shinji's date?" Misato says.

Asuka's brow flinches. "I'm going to keep him from saying anything classified. Now get moving."

"Oh wait." Misato calls after them before they can leave. "It's my turn to pick up dinner and I really shouldn't drive." Asuka gives Misato a look. "What? It's my day off." Misato places a couple of yen in Shinji's hand. "Pick up some take out for dinner tonight."

"Okay." Asuka says. "Now get moving, Idiot."

Misato watches from the doorway as Asuka drags Shinji to the elevator. She looks back inside. "Pen-pen stop drinking my beer, damn it!" The door closes. Screaming and squawking can be heard. "Drink your own!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many eyes followed the pair as Shinji walked with Asuka. No one was looking at Shinji. The sun was starting to set. There was a warm glow to the sky that was in contrast to the cool breeze in the air.

They made it to the ice cream shop. Mana was sitting at the table outside, a cup of strawberry ice cream next to her. She saw Shinji and started waving. She also made no attempt to hide her disappointment when she noticed Asuka by his side. Disappointment changed to disgust as she looked at what Asuka was wearing. Mana really didn't have much room to talk. She was also wearing a skirt much too short for her age.

"Hi Mana? "Shinji says, walking up to her table. "Sorry I'm running a little late."

"It's cool. Well, do-" Mana says.

"Yeah yeah." Asuka says cutting her off. "This is fascinating. Shinji go get the ice cream. This place has great watermelon sorbet." Asuka gives Shinji a little push and takes a seat across from Mana .

"Why don't you get it?" he says.

"Because it's cold in the shop." she says to him and looks to Mana. "Let's get this over with."

Shinji shoulders drop in surrender. "You want a cup or a cone?"

"Sugar cone, please." she says waving.

Once Shinji is through the door Mana looks to Asuka. They both eye each other over. "So what brings you here, Asuka?" says Mana.

"I'm just here to keep that idiot from talking about anything secret."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Cause he is."

"He's got a cute butt." Mana says watching Shinji waiting in line. Asuka blushes.

You could cut the tension with a knife as Shinji returns with a cup and a cone. Shinji takes a seat and Mana opens up her laptop. "Okay lets get started." she says. She started by asking both of them some simple questions. Mostly just name, age, and a bit of background.

"So Shinji, what was it like the first time you piloted?" Mana asks.

"It was scary." The fear of Shinji's first battle in the Evangelions came back. He had blacked out and never really knew what had happened. "I'm really not sure what happened really. I'd never even heard of this stuff when I first arrived."

"I was trained from a child to be a pilot." Asuka adds. Mana just gives Asuka a look and keeps typing. Mana would ask a question of Shinji. Asuka usually found a reason to answer herself or cut Shinji off. She would explain that it was "Classified". Her look softens when Shinji talks about loosing his mother when he was three years old. She considers reaching out and taking his hand, but stops herself.

"So you don't live with your father, and you lost your mother at a young age. What can you tell me about your guardian?"

"She's a drunk and a slob." Asuka says.

"Asuka!" Shinji scowls at her.

"Yeah, I know." Asuka looks apologetic for her comment. "She's nice. She could clean up after herself more."

"Misato took me in when I first arrived. I was raised by my teacher, but Misato actually seemed to want me. She wouldn't take no for an answer." Shinji says to Mana. "Yeah, she can be a bit of a slob, but she's a really hard worker." Mana smiles.

The interview goes on for another half hour. It is a polite conversation with the occasional comment from Asuka. She often makes sarcastic comments calling Mana, "Lois Lane". Much like her nickname for Rei being "Wonder girl". Mana even asks Asuka a few questions.

"Well thank you so much, Shinji." Mana says, closing her lap top. She stands up and shakes his hand holding it softly as she continues. She refuses to release. "It's going to take a few days for this to appear in the school paper. I need to run it through your people to make sure everything is alright. It should be in the Thursday edition. I'll see to it you get a copy the night before."

"Okay, thanks." says Shinji.

Mana even shakes Asuka's hand. Both look into each other eyes. There arms shake as they squeeze. A challenge to see who will let go first. Both come to a stalemate and give each other rather fake smiles.

Asuka slips her arms around Shinji's and they walk off. "Good bye Mr. Ikari. See you in school tomorrow." Mana says as they leave. She takes a seat and crosses her fingers watching after Shinji and his companion.

The streets aren't crowed. This time of night many couples are out on their way to dates. There is a calm in the air and a cool breeze. "That wasn't so bad." Shinji says, further down the road. He eats his sweet treat that he wasn't able to enjoy much during the interview.

"If you say so." Asuka says. Shinji offers her the spoon.

"You want some?" he says.

Asuka looks surprised. She smiles and gently takes the offered spoon. "Yeah thanks." she says. They share what is left of the sorbet as they walk through the street and try to pick from the variety of fast food restaurants. They see the golden arches, Mos Burger, Dom Dom, Wendy's, and one catches Asuka's eye.

"Oh I love this stuff. Come on, Shinji!" she says.

Shinji looks at the red and white sign. "What's 'KFC'?" he asks.

"Kentucky...Fried...Chicken, moron."

"Why doesn't the sign say that then?"

"Because it's obvious." she says, walking inside.

Shinji lets Asuka do the ordering, and Shinji pays with money Misato gave him. Shinji carries the bucket, and Asuka the side dishes of mashed potatoes, potato wedges, and slaw.

Misato was pleased with their selection. She hadn't had KFC in many months. She said fried chicken and beer are a perfect mix. Though everything is a good match with beer for Misato. Her and Asuka almost had a fight over the chicken legs and potato wedges. Shinji thought it was greasy, but good. The flavor was really strong and crispy. He watched in amazement as Asuka cleaned the meat to the bone. Misato drowned her mashed potatoes in gravy.

The three gathered together at the TV after Asuka changed into something more comfortable. They watched some sitcoms, and dramas for a couple of hours. Hikari called and talked with Asuka. Misato fell asleep on her chair. Shinji had to help Asuka get her to her room. "Mein Gott." Asuka says. "Does she ever clean up in here." She trips over a beer can. Asuka puts Mistao in bed and Shinji picks up the empties. Asuka stays up to watch television, but Shinji goes to bed early.

Before he walks in his room Asuka says, "Hikari told me what you did?" She doesn't look away from the TV. "Sorry I ran out today, and… thanks."

"No problem." he says walking in his room and going to bed.

Asuka squeezes the pillow with a soft, kind smile. "_Idiot."_ she thinks in an odd compliment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days go by. Most of the classes are done. It's mostly just relaxed around school. Shinji and Kensuke take great pleasure in teasing Touji about his new girlfriend. During lunch Touji chases them around the roof until it starts to irritate Hikari. Shinji enjoys being able to retaliate for all those jokes Touji always made at his expense.

Asuka hardly left Shinji alone in school. When ever Mana just happened to appear in the halls Asuka would make up some excuse for the group to get back to class. Touji tried to make a comment, but was cut off when Hikari stomped on his foot.

Movie night was Shinji's turn. He picked some old sci-fi horror movie about vampires and werewolves at war. Asuka was a little grossed out. Misato liked the lead actress's pants, and gun play. Misato had even talked Rei into joining them this week.

Thirty minutes after the movie was over the four separated to do their own thing. Asuka was at the table reading a magazine Hikari loaned her. Rei was sitting across from her reading a book. Misato was playing one of Asuka's video games, and getting beaten. Shinji was listening to his music, but was getting himself a drink when the doorbell rang.

"Asuka can you get that I.. think… I almost… got this bastard." says Misato.

"I'm busy." says Asuka. "Shinji get the door." There is a short pause and the door bell rings again. "SHINJI!" she screams.

"Yeah?" he says removing his ear piece from his SDAT player.

"Get the damn door!"

Shinji finally hears the tone and says, "Coming.". He walks up to the door and opens it. There greeting him is one of his friends. "Hey, Kensuke." Shinji notices the look in his pal's eyes. They are wide and he seems very nervous. "You alright?" he asks.

"Fine!" Kensuke hollers accidentally. "Uh, I was asked to drop this off. Here take it." he says not even taking a breath between sentences. Kensuke hands over a copy of their school paper and quickly releases it. Shinji looks at the pages.

"Oh this is the paper." he says looking at the cover. "Thanks. Do you want to come in?"

Kensuke gives a quick shake of the head and starts to run. He bypasses the elevator and takes the stairs. Moving like he was trying to get out of burning building. "_Weird-O."_ Shinji thinks. He walks in the condo and starts to read.

In the living room Misato suffers another defeat and gives up. "Shin-chan, who was that?" says Misato. There is a long pause "Shinji?" Still no reply. Concerned Misato gets up and walks into the hall leading to the door. Rei and Asuka watch as Misato leaves and go back to their reading. Asuka can hear Misato talking. "Shinji, you alright? What'cha reading there." There is a moment of silence. "Oh, is that the paper? Gimme."

"Misato, no!" Shinji says, watching Misato walk away with the paper.

"Oh, don't be shy." Misato walks in with the paper in hand. "Oh, that's such a cute picture of you." Misato laughs as she reads then comes to a stop. She finishes the story in silence. Her jaw falling.

Asuka looks to Misato. "What's that?"

"Nothing!" Misato snaps, trying to hide the paper behind herself. Asuka gives her guardian a suspicious look. She gets up and Misato takes a step back. "Really, Asuka it's nothing important. Let's go to bed."

"It's nine-thirty." Asuka says. Her speed is to much for the inebriated Misato. She grabs the paper and takes it back to her seat. Shinji peaks from the hall. The sight of Mana's name irritates Asuka.

-----------------------

**Portrait in Tragic Courage**  
Reporter: Kirishima Mana

A struggle for our very lives is taking place. An enemy of unknown  
origin is out to end us all. Is this foe the weapon of a foreign  
government, or from another part of our galaxy? Our government  
has most of these facts kept as closely guarded secrets.

We are not alone in this fight. We have protectors. The giant  
robots known as Evas. These mammoth automatons are yet  
another in a long line of secrets. Most civilians in our city, let  
alone the country, have ever seen the fighting machines. Certain  
restrictions on the press prevent much investigation, but what  
kind of otaku would obsess over such things. Thanks to a very  
long, painstaking investigation I got an exclusive with these  
mechs' pilots.

-----------------------

"'Painstaking investigation'?" Asuka says, with a chuckle. "She asked Shinji last week." She leans back in her seat and continues through the article.

-----------------------

Three students from our own humble school could be what gets  
us to see graduation.

Firstly is a boy of quiet temperament, but an enduring will. I am  
speaking of Ikari Shinji, 14. Who knows what mysteries hide  
behind those chestnut eyes? He bravely fights for us all. Never  
even asking for so much as a kind word in return. This warrior of  
peace was even a target of a reprisal attack at the hands of a  
student. Still Mr. Ikari goes on.

Mr. Ikari lost his mother at a very young age. The tragic teen  
never had enough time to build memories with his mother. "I was I  
think three when she passed away." he says. "I don't even have a  
picture of her to remember her by. My father got rid of everything."  
Is it this trauma that drives him to fight for justice? Even though Mr.  
Ikari comes from a neglectful father he is raised by a kindhearted  
guardian. The young and vibrant Katsuragi Misato, 26. "Misato  
took me in when I first arrived. I was raised by my teacher, but  
Misato actually seemed to want me. She wouldn't take no for an  
answer." Mr. Ikari says, with an adoring grin. "Yeah, she can be a  
bit of a slob, but she's a really hard worker." Rumor has it that Mr.  
Ikari is a highly skilled cook. Ms. Katsuragi must be a wonderful  
caretaker to be raising such a well rounded, skilled gentleman. 

-----------------------

"I knew it. She was making some fluff piece. No way NERV would ever let her print anything in-depth." says Asuka. "Total crap. 'chestnut eyes."? More like dirt brown." Shinji stands, shaking, watching Asuka from the hall.

"M-maybe you should just stop there?" says Shinji, his voice breaks.

"Shut it, Stupid." Asuka says. "I'm reading."

Misato is slowly inching her way to her bedroom door to avoid being noticed. Animals having a heightened sense of danger. Pen-pen dashes for his fridge bed and closes the door. Rei sits quietly.

-----------------------

Next we come to one Ayanami Rei, 14, who has been attendiing  
our school even before Mr. Ikari. Despite this fact little is known  
about her. Ayanami often has long absences from school. When  
she does return to class she is often covered in bandages. What  
happens to these pilots? Poor Mr. Ikari. Hasn't he been forced to  
suffer enough in his young life.

Ayanami is more often seen wandering the halls reading or  
writing in a small note book. She hardly talks at all. "She's kind of  
a freak. It's kind of like watching a ghost wander the halls." says  
one student. She has also been spotted walking with Mr. Ikari's  
band.

"She's quiet, yes." says Mr. Ikari. "She risked her own life to save  
me." For that I think we all owe Rei a huge thanks.

Her motivations are suspect. When this reporter tried to reach  
Ayanami for comment she would only say, "I'll talk with you if I am  
ordered to.". What are her secrets? Like, does she wear colored  
contacts? Does she harbor deep feelings for Mr. Ikari? Is that her  
real hair color?

-----------------------

Asuka laughs heartily. "That's great. Wonder girl dyes her hair. I never thought about that."

"I don't." says Rei, her nose still in her book.

-----------------------

Speaking of fake hair color. We come to the last and certainly  
least. The German transfer student, Suryu Asuke Linglay. She is  
another in the group Mr. Ikari surrounds himself. Most likely she  
is just trying to leach attention from Ikari. "Most of us girls are  
afraid of her. She talks down to everyone, and everyone worries  
she'll hit them." says one girl, 15. Students only agreed to talk of  
Asuke under the guaranty of anonymity. 

"I don't know how we're picked to become pilots." says Mr. Ikari.  
Asuke's selection must be some kind of mistake. Let's hope that  
our lives never rest in her hands.

Asuke boasts she has already graduated from college. Looking  
into such records I could find no evidence to back up this claim. At  
her age, 16, one must wonder how many times she has been  
held back to still be in her grade level.

While Ms. Suryu gives the front of a demure lady in school.  
Outside of class she dresses more like a harlot on the red light  
district. Someone needs to tell her that pigtails went out in grade  
school. "The boys only chase after her, cause they say she's easy."  
says one girl, 14. "Yeah, I took her out. She was aggressive.  
Her hands were all over me." says one boy, 15. Let's hope Asuke  
hasn't yet robbed Mr. Ikari of his innocence.

Asuke also lives with Ikari Shinji, and Katsuragi Misato. "I'd  
rather of gotten my own place, but I had to move in with Shinji  
for tactical reasons." says Asuke. Is that the truth, or does she  
just wish to use Mr. Ikari like some kind of servant.

The Eva pilots work through danger and fear to keep Tokyo-3  
safe. Even if they are hardly equals in skill. Rest well for our  
government has chosen Ikari Shinji to protect us all. Ayanami's  
there to back him up. Asuke can always get the coffee… I guess.

-----------------------

"THAT LITTLE BITCH!" Asuka screams slamming her fists on the table.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
To Be Continued...  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	7. Affirmation

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: You have NO IDEA how happy I was to see the positive reactions to that last chapter. I so wish I could of seen your reactions as you read through that last part from when Kensuke shows up.

A small few I think missed the point in the article. Originally, I had Asuka making some rather nasty comments during the interview. While they were very funny. I thought that would lessen any sympathy you would have for Asuka. It also makes a lot of those attacks less justified. Asuka may not of been nice to Mana, but she was never so nasty she deserved THAT.  
I really like reading reviews, but if you are going to critique all I ask is you just explain what you feel is wrong in a bit of detail.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Affirmation**

"I don't see what's wrong so far." says Ritsuko, glancing from the paper in her hands. She sits at the lunch table deep inside the NERV cafeteria. Maya Ibuki is reading over her shoulder.

"Keep… keep reading." says Misato, waving down. She sits across from Ritsuko. Her head resting on the table buried in her arms. The group at the table is similar to that of a week ago. This time Kaji is sitting up, shaking his head in disbelief; and Shigeru Aoba, NERV control room technician, is sitting with them.

Ritsuko chuckles, "Twenty-six? I doubt that 'factual error' bothered you too much."

"Bitch." Misato grumbles, looking up from her arms. She drops her head again and waves. "Keep going." Ritsuko sits back and continues.

"You, Teaching Shinji to cook?" says Ritsuko. "People pray after they eat your cooking."

"Oh, Shut Up!" yells Misato. "Save the commentary till the end." There is a short pause and she groans, "I'm tired." Ritsuko takes the hint and starts to read on. Her eyes go wide.

She reaches the last third of the story. "Oh, my." Ritsuko says.

"Yeah, I know." Misato says.

Maya clamps her hands over her mouth as she gasps. Kaji, who has already read this, says, "Yep.". Ritsuko and Maya finish the article together.

"Pass that over here." says Aoba. Maya grabs the paper, her hands shaking. Aoba takes it from her and he starts to read.

"So,…what did she do?" Ritsuko asks Misato.

"What do you THINK she did?" she says, sitting up and rubbing her temples for a second. "Asuka, just flipped out. She tore the paper to shreds."

Maya looks to the paper Aoba is now reading. He can be heard chuckling as he reads and those laughs soon stop when he reaches the last third of the article. "If she destroyed it where did you get that?" Maya asks.

"Security had a copy they approved." answers Misato. She looks back to Ritsuko. "Shinji bolted into his room, and I could of sworn I heard him moving his furniture against the door."

"What did you do?" asks Maya.

Misato chuckles. "I followed his lead."

Aoba sets the paper down with a look of utter shock. "Damn." is all he says.

"She just went into a blind rage." Misato says. "I got worried when I remembered Rei was still sitting out there. So, I took a peak and there she was just sitting there reading while Asuka stomped around the room screaming a bunch of German curses. Some I knew and a few I think she was making up." Misato picks a carrot with her fork and she chomps down on it. "This went on for FOUR HOURS. Eventually, Rei just stood up and walked out." She keeps eating and continues once she swallows. "Poor Pen-Pen. He was still too scared to come out of his room this morning."

"Sounds like this Mana girl needs to be put in protective custody." says Aoba with a smile.

"How are the kids now?" says Kaji.

"Shinji was gone when I woke up. I'm not sure if Asuka even slept." Misato says. "She was sitting on her bed when I walked in. She was strangely calm." She shivers and continues, "We had a talk and agreed it was probably best she not go to school." Ritsuko gives her a disapproving look. "What? There are only two days left. All the test are done. They're just keeping the kids busy till the end of the week anyways."

"You really just trust Asuka to sit at home and do nothing?" says a surprised Maya.

Misato gives a sly grin and a wink. "Oh, I'm not that thick. I have security keeping an eye on my place. She can't go to the bathroom without me finding out about it." She sits back impressed with her own plan.

"Well, you all ready for that meeting Friday in Matsushiro with the UN representatives?" asks Ritsuko.

"I hate these long trips." says Misato. "Why do I have to go? The things are just a bunch of old farts whining."

"Because the commanders don't want to go. So they send you." Ritsuko looks to Kaji. "Least you'll have Kaji there to protect you from all those grope happy old men." Kaji looks to Misato and grins.

"That's like having the fox guard the chicken coop." says Misato, glaring to Kaji.

A moment passes, and her cell phone rings. Misato opens her phone and places it to her ear. "Hello." she says in a cheery tone. She jumps from her seat, slamming her hand on the table. "What!" Everyone looks to Misato. Kaji and Ritsuko are the only ones who don't look surprised. Misato starts talking into the phone with a pause between each sentence.

"How long ago?"

"…"

"Wha- How the HELL-? You were supposed to be watching her! Where were your men?"

"……"

"Ouch. Is he alright?"

"……………………………..."

"How many stitches!" Everyone at the table cringes. Their imaginations run wild.

"………………."

"Of coarse I want you to find her, you Jack-Ass!"

"…………"

"Where the HELL do you think she's going!" Misato ends the call abruptly. She braces her hands on the table, and she sheds a cold sweat. Misato brakes off into a mad sprint.

The group watches her out and they look to each other. Kaji says "Mount 'Suryu' erupts.".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bright sun masks the dark cloud making it's way to the First Munipal Jr. High School. All day the halls were filled with laughter. People were either reading the paper or laughing about it. Shinji had never felt so uncomfortable. People who normally would never look at him suddenly wanted to congratulate him on his skill. Patting his back and shaking his hand.

"Come on people make some room!" Touji said, clearing people away. "Let the hero get to his classes." Shinji and Hikari just gave him a nasty look. Hikari grabbed Shinji and rushed him from the gathering crowd. They could hear Touji making some stupid joke about Shinji giving out autographs after school.

In class the teacher was showing some movie. The only light coming from the windows. The old man, who normally would be droning on about life before Second Impact, was fast asleep at his desk. Seems talking was the only thing that keeps the man from passing out. Students had their desks in small clusters. Touji and Hikari gathered their desks to surround Shinji on both flanks to shield him from the eyes in the room. They had to move Rei's desk with her in to get her to join their gathering. Kensuke is nervously shaking at his desk.

"How could she do that?" says Shinji.

"I told you. I heard she could be a bitch." says Touji. He looks to Kensuke and pats him on the arm. "What's wrong with you?"

Kensuke flinches. "It's nothing." he says. His eyes filled with paranoia.

"Is Asuka…. alright?" asks Hikari in a small voice.

"She was sooo angry, but she's not here. I guess she's staying at home." says Shinji.

"Probably ashamed." adds Touji. Hikari was about to scold Touji when Shinji's reaction catches her eye.

He clenches his fist. His expression is too hard to read. Is he depressed or angry? "She didn't deserve that." he says.

"All you're doing is complaining." says Rei. "If you want there to be change - take action."

"I need to go out for a bit." Shinji says to Hikari. Out in the halls students are laughing and sharing their favorite quote from the paper. All of them have to do with Asuka.

"Don't fall in, Ikari." Touji says, as Shinji calmly walks out of the room. Touji slides over a seat to sit next to Hikari.

"I can't believe all those lies Mana wrote about Asuka." says Hikari. She bolts from her seat and slips out the door. Touji looks disappointed as he was just about to slip his arm around her shoulder. He watches the dull movie for about five minutes.

The mood out in the hall changes. There seems to be a panic in the air. The class room door slams open. A young boy with a buzz cut looks like he has seen the devil. "S-she's been spotted in the building! Soryu's Here!" Boys and girls gasp in the panic. Rei is the only student who has no reaction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crowds of students filling the halls part like the red sea. Asuka walks in a quiet rage. No Angel has ever seen this look in her eye. Her hair flows behind her like a fire. No one makes a sound as she passes. Her piercing blue eyes dart back and fourth as she scans the crowds.

She comes to a stop and the students gasp. Asuka suddenly points to a person just outside of her blind spot. The target is a mousy looking fifteen year old boy. "You!" she says. The boy flattens against the wall by some invisible force. Asuka walks up to him and the other students move out of the way. The boy starts to sweat. "You look like the kind of boy who would know where they make the paper."

"I-I-Uh." the boy mutters. "I'm n..n..not s… sure."

Asuka swings a punch that barely misses his head and slams into the locker behind him. She removes her fist to show the metal door is dented. No words. She just glares. The boy glances to the metal crater. "Second floor. Northwest wing." he says.

Asuka smiles and starts back on her way. Students scatter to clear a path. The mousy boy passes out. Only one jock, three times Asuka's size, is stupid enough to stand in her way. He is left in her wake groaning on the floor, holding his crotch. A single thought runs through her head. "_Dirne sollen wurfel."_

The hall on the second floor is clear of all students. The red head juggernaut comes close to her target. She comes to the door and shakes her head. The room shouldn't of been hard to find. The sign on the door says:

**School Paper Staff**

She is about to grab the door when sounds of someone yelling comes from inside. She listens to the door. Who ever it is sounds almost as angry as her. "SHUT UP! How could you!" someone screams inside the room.

Asuka recognizes the voice. She thinks, "_Is that Shinji… yelling?"_

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mana stands in front of her desk in the room students make the school paper. Shinji holds his ground a few feet ahead of her. A line has been crossed and he can no longer control his own thoughts.

"What are you complaining about?" Mana says confused. "Everyone in the school thinks you're a hero now."

"I never asked you to do that!" Shinji hollers. "I don't want it. I'm no hero!"

"Neither is that bitch, Asuka. I know while she's been here she's never won a single battle on her own.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Well, a few kind words, well placed hand, and your lil' friend Aida can be quite the talker."

"_Damn, Kensuke. Hacking on your dad's computer."_ Shinji thinks. "That's not her fault! It's the same for me. I'm no good. I have always needed help. Asuka is closer to a hero then I ever will be."

"How can you defend her?"

"She at least knows why she pilots! My heart is weak, but her's is strong. She doesn't need me."

"I've seen the way she treats you. Pushing you around, and treating everyone else like they aren't good enough for her."

"You don't understand her! That gives you no right to lie about her like that!"

"She's not your friend, Shinji." Mana says.

Those words cut into Shinji's heart. "I know…. I know she doesn't like me. She may even hate me."

"So why would you put up with that?"

"Cause I'm her friend! She may not care about me, but I care about her! I..I need her, and I wont abandon her." There is a long silence in the room. Shinji turns and walks to the door.

"Don't go, Shinji."

"Just leave me alone." he says, opening up the door, and his eyes meet with Asuka. Her cheeks flush, standing in complete silence. Her anger is gone, replaced by confusion. Shinji realizes she must of heard every word. Her heart skips a beat and she runs down the hall to the stairs. Shinji leans out the door calling after her. "Asuka, Wait!" He hears a muffled gasp from the other end of the hall. He looks to see Hikari standing there, hand to her mouth. The blushing tells him that she must have heard him as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half hour later a lone girl sits on a bench on the bluff that overlooks Tokyo-3. She closes her eyes as she feels the warm sun. The birds singing in the trees. She's filled with peace and confusion, slowly tapping her feet on the ground. This calm is broken by a soft voice that calls out to her. "Asuka?"

Asuka glances to her right and sees her friend standing there. "Oh, hey."

"You alright? I was worried about you." Hikari says.

"Class Rep, you worry about everything." says Asuka looking to the flying birds. "That's your problem." She pats on the bench next to her gesturing for Hikari to join her.

"And your problem is you don't talk when you need it." she says, taking a seat. They sit together for a few minutes. Hikari can understand why Asuka came here. It's so calming.

"How did you find me?" Asuka asks.

"I guessed." Hikari shrugs. "This is… a place we've come to talk before."

Asuka murmurs a sound of her understanding. There is another short pause in the conversation. "Me and Shinji - talked here while we were training together. After I ran off."

"I remember that. I yelled at him to go find you."

Asuka chuckles, and says warmly, "That's why? He's such a dork. You have to tell him to do everything.".

"That Mana is such a bitch." Hikari says with venom. Asuka glances to her friend in surprise. Hikari gathers her calm again. "Want to know what happened after you left?"

"Okay." she says in a removed tone.

"The principle found out about all the lies that were in that story."

"How?"

"I told him."

"I didn't ask you to do that you know?" says Asuka a bit upset.

"I know. I wanted to. No way I was going to let her get away with that." Hikari sets her bag on the ground. "Mana was called into the office. She was told they found out about her lies, and she tried to argue. She said she didn't make up any quotes."

Asuka looks upset. "I have never dated any of those pigs at school!"

"I know. Turns out the boy who said it was Haru Fuso."

"Ew, that nerd who smells like he doesn't bath?" Asuka says disgusted. "I don't even like the idea of the rumor that I would touch him."

"She just took that rumor, that he started of coarse, and used it in the story. She knew it was a lie. It just fit into her design." Hikari can't help a smile as she knows Asuka is going to like what will come next. "She was ordered to make an apology. She refused, and was told if she didn't she would be banned from the school paper through her junior and high school career."

The red head chuckles. "Bet she didn't like that."

"Nope. She wants to go to school for journalism. You know they look at your past works when you file for admittance? It wouldn't look too good if her last big story was found out to be full of lies and personal attacks."

"She'd wind up a tabloid reporter, or working for Faux News."

"Yeah. So now not only does she have to write a special edition for tomorrow. She has to read it over the PA to the whole school."

Asuka starts laughing. "Oh, that sounds like a blast. Too bad I wont be there to hear it."

"Wh-what do you mean Asuka? It's the last day."

"I know. I just don't want to deal with it all, or go to jail for murder." Asuka looks to her disappointed friend. "I'll call you. We'll do something this weekend." They both smile and look to the shining city.

Hikari bites her lip. "I… I heard it all you know. What he said. Have you talked with him?" Asuka just shakes her head. Hikari looks into the trees and sees a mother bird chirping around her nest. "That was pretty romantic." she says, speaking of Shinji's oath to never abandon Asuka.

"Yeah." Asuka says impressed. She catches herself and looks to her friend. "I didn't ask for his help either."

"I know, but he cares about you, Asuka. So do I."

"Why would he do that for me? I don't deserve it." Asuka looks to the ground in reflection, and her eyes return to the sky. "Hikari," she struggles with her thoughts. "do… do you think he… LOVES me?"

"No…"

Asuka bows her head in defeat. Memories of her past with Shinji fill her mind. "You're right." she says. "How could he? I've been horrible to him since day one. Always mocking him, hitting him. How could anyone put up with me?"

"That's not what I meant." Hikari says grinning from ear to ear. "I mean, how could he love you? When you've never even gone out on a date." She starts to giggle.

"Well, there's the arcade." Asuka says with a sheepish grin.

"That doesn't count. He didn't know it was a date."

"You're one to talk." The two look into each others eyes and share a hearty laugh. "I want to go home." Asuka takes Hikari by the hands and they start to walk back into the city.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shinji made his way home slowly. He walked out of school just after the confrontation with Mana. He didn't tell anyone he was leaving. Shinji found Pen-pen out of his room digging through the fridge. He tossed his school bag into his bedroom and walked onto the balcony.

The clouds drifted in front of the sun, casting at large shadow.

Some time later he is still outside. Shinji stands on the balcony of his apartment. Quietly, he scans the horizon. Shinji's eyes are filled with confusion. Something that Rei said just triggered something in him earlier. He confessed his heart. He didn't know at the time, but Asuka heard the whole thing.

"Some friend you are." A voice calls from behind. "At least Hikari was out there looking for me." He turns and sees Asuka, her hands on her hips and brows furrowed. She always looks so much more intimidating that way. "And where do I find you? Standing here and moping like an idiot." she says.

"A-As-" he says.

"Shut it!" Asuka says, hodling out her hand suddenly. She strides upon him with purpose. "How stupid are you? All this time living together." She starts poking him in the chest every few words. "Where the HELL did you get in that thick skull that I would hate you! That I wasn't your friend! I swear if you were any more dense your head would be made of stone." Asuka exhales as if she has just had a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

Shinji looks to her in absolute confusion. He holds on the railing in fear he may fall off and onto the pavement below. "About at school, Asuka. I just want to say I'm -"

Asuka is enraged. She cuts him off saying, "Don't You Dare! Don't you dare EVER apologize for that. If you ever apologize for that I really will HATE you.". She strikes him on the shoulder with her opened palm. "Got that!"

Shinji nods his head in agreement "Yeah."

Her expression softens and she smiles. "I never thought you had it in you. Shinji Ikari finally grew a spine." She takes Shinji by the wrist and leads him back inside. "Come on. I'm hungry, and your cooking tonight."

"Sure." he says. Shinji smiles as he notices her grip on his arm is much softer then he ever remembers.

Misato ran inside the apartment forty minutes later, her eyes frantic. She looks like she has been driving around town with her head out the window. "Shinji, is she here!" she says. She glances around, and is shocked by the sight that greets her. Shinji is carrying in a bowl of miso stew. Asuka is sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine, rather then reading it.

"Welcome home. I was just about to call you for dinner."

"What's happenin'." Asuka says, casually, raising her hand, not looking from her magazine.

Misato runs her hands through her hair. She walks up to Asuka. "You-you're here?"

Asuka glances around and looks to Misato. "Uh, Yeah. I live here."

"I know you left. You assaulted a member of security."

"I didn't know that. I had to go out for a bit, and I though he was a peeper." she says, looking as if she has absolutely no idea what Misato is trying to imply. Asuka looks over to Shinji. "Hey, food ready yet?"

"The vegetables will be one more minute." he says.

Asuka jumps from the couch and takes a seat at the table. Misato drops her phone in confusion. Pen-pen walks up to Misato to hand her a beer.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
To Be Continued...  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	8. Wasted Affection

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: This chapter was originally part of Chapter Seven. I cut it in half. I don't like making these chapters too long. Things are really going to start coming together now.

One of my favorite scenes to write in that last chapter was the first one at NERV. I also like how Rei pretty much ignored Asuka. The only reason Asuka didn't turn on Rei with her anger was, because Asuka was in a blind rage.

Shinji confronting Mana was a tough scene to write. I know what "I" would do in that situation, but what I would do isn't in Shinji's character. Some people still haven't gotten it about that article Mana wrote. Most of what she wrote about Asuka was a lie. I thought I answered most of that in the last chapter. Seems I have to spell it out for a very small few. Asuka did go to college, she is fourteen, golden-red is her real hair color, she would never of dated a boy from school, she is a great pilot, she's not trying to leech attention from Shinji, and Mana was dressed just as showy as Asuka was.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Wasted Affection**

Misato had eyed Asuka through the first ten minutes of dinner. Eventually, she just let it all go. Asuka and Shinji kept looking to each other from time to time. They felt like that were getting away with something. During the meal Misato went over the situation with her business trip. She was leaving very early the next morning and wouldn't be back till about mid Saturday. She also told them that if they needed anything they should call Ritsuko.

"I don't mind if you two ditch school tomorrow, but just promise me you'll stay home till school is dismissed."

"Okay." says Shinji.

"'Kay, whatever." says Asuka.

Misato got up to go to watch some television. She looked back remembering something. She says, "One more thing. Don't answer the phone. If Ritsuko calls and finds out I let you two skip all she'll do is bitch me out.". Asuka and Shinji agreed and gathered the dishes. Misato packed her bags, placed them by the front door, and went to bed early. She just asked the kids to keep the noise down for a while.

The kids silently watched TV for the rest of the night. Shinji was about to enter his room when he was called from behind. "Shinji?" Asuka said in a soft voice. Her hair was down and had just left the bathroom. He turned to look at her. Asuka walked to him slowly. She just looked into his eyes. No words passed, and Asuka suddenly embraced him, resting her head at his shoulder. He was in shock. She wasn't holding him very tight, but he felt his lungs suddenly empty. Asuka says, in a small voice, "Thank you.". She lighty pushed him away and walked into her room.

He stood there, looking to her door, for a minute till his motor fucntions returned and went into his room to change for bed. The small crack in Misato's door slowly sealed.

Shinji laid in bed looking to the ceiling and feeling rather proud with himself. Asuka was snuggled under her covers and looking to her red bear fondly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seemed a complete shame to stay in on such a lovely day. Asuka was in bed until noon. Her alarm was off, but the chirping birds on her windowsill caused her to open her eyes. She made her bed and propped the bear on the pillow. Walking out she saw Shinji preparing lunch. She said, "What are you cooking, Shinji?".

He seemed a bit surprised she was up. He looked to her and replied, "Oh, I'm making some onigiri, some sandwiches, and chopped fruit. I was just about to wake you."

Asuka stretches. "That sounds nice." she says. She starts walking to the bathroom and an idea comes to her. "Hey, why don't we have that out on the balcony?"

"Okay."

"Cool, I just need to freshen up and get dressed." she says. While she got dressed Shinji had finished the meal and was setting some chairs and a small table outside. Asuka saw Pen-pen was wandering around and took the initiative to put his food in his bowl. Pen-pen picked up the bowl and carried it out to balcony. Seemed he was joining them."Shinji, what do you want to drink!" she yelled out to Shinji.

"Soda!" he answered back from the balcony. She opened the fridge and saw it was two thirds full of Misato's favorite beer, variety of domestic beers, some other brands of ales, and a couple of sodas. _"Damn it. I thought Misato was suppose to go to the store yesterday."_ she thinks. It is then that Asuka remembers that Misato must of forgotten while driving through town looking for her. She grabs a few cans of soda and takes them outside. Pen-pen seemed put out that Asuka hadn't brought him a drink. He waddled inside and came back with a beer. "Pen-pen you shouldn't take that." Shinji says. Pen-pen guarded the can from Shinji's grasp and leered at him.

"Just leave him alone, Shinji." says Asuka. "I really doubt beer is anything new to the bird."

Shinji just gave up and they went back to eating. "Wonder what's going on at school today?"

"They're probably hearing an earful." Asuka says smiling. Shinji looks confused. Asuka was starting to explain about what Mana had to do to make up for her warrantless personal attack, but Shinji just go upset and said, "I don't want to talk about her.".

Asuka was impressed and rather touched. He was so upset for her. This wasn't pity that Asuka despised so much. It was loyalty. She says "We're free for the day of supervision. We should do something special.".

"Like what?" he asks. He was a little worried.

"I haven't decided yet." The smile on her face told Shinji she wasn't being honest. She had something on her mind, but had chosen to keep him in the dark - for now.

They spent the next few hours reading, watching TV, and playing video games. Asuka normally didn't like slow moving games, but joined in on one of Shinji's RPGs. School was letting out and Asuka called Hikari. Shinji started listening to his music just to drown out the giggling and gossip. The two girls laughed over the phone. Hikari was filling Asuka in on all the events at school. Many of the students thought some of the same things about Asuka that were in the story, but the joke today was Mana. Shinji snacked on dried fruits and never took notice that Asuka was looking to him as she talked with Hikari.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shinji was sitting alone in the house for a couple hours later. Asuka had gone out with Hikari to talk and get some groceries to cook dinner. Asuka made burgers and reheated fries. She used a tip from Hikari where she put all the seasoning and onions in the center of the patty before she cooked. She called him to dinner and he sat down. He took a bite of a cheese burger and was quite impressed. He says, "These are really good. Something tastes different though."

"They're made with beef and sausage ground together." she says. She thought about taking credit for the idea, but it was another tip from Hikari. Hikari had asked the butcher to grind the two meats together.

Shinji had finally made out there were no drinks on the table. Asuka took notice as well and went back to the fridge. She slid open the door, and Shinji heard her say, "Uh, oops.". He sat there with a mouthful of meat and bread. Asuka came back, with an odd grin, holding something behind her back. Shinji swallowed. "What are you hiding?" he asks.

Asuka revealed her secret and set a can of Yebisu beer in front of Shinji. She says, "We're drinking this.".

"We can't drink that! It's Misato's!

"It's all there is." she says, taking her seat and wishing he would drop it.

"You just went to the store. Why didn't you get any drinks?" he asks. Asuka looks away and mumbles something. He says in response, "Huh?".

"I forgot OKAY." she snaps. "It wont kill us."

"Misato might if she finds out."

"Well, she wont if we don't tell her. No way she could notice a few beers missing from that stock." Asuka opened her beer. She says, "We can get something after we eat.". She was about to take her first taste, and she saw Shinji's unsure look. "We can't go now. The fries will get soggy and the meat will get cold." She looked upset.

Shinji agreed reluctantly. She worked hard on this and didn't want to disappoint her. He opened his beer and took a tentative sip. The bitter taste washed over his tongue. "Agh!" he hollered. "How can Misato drink this? It tastes like piss."

"Oh, grow up." Asuka said laughing. She takes a large drink and swallows. Her eyes enlarge and she hollers out, "Mein Gott im Himmel!" She starts coughing, but quickly gains her composer. Beer is very important to the German culture. At that moment she wasn't sure why. Shinji eyes her with disbelief. They both find out the taste isn't so bad if used to wash down their food.

Once they were done eating Asuka got up to clear the plates and staggered. "Whoa." she groans. Shinji grinned. He could tell she was drunk. He got up to help, but his knees almost fell out from under him. "I -don't think we should go out like this." Asuka says. "We might get in trouble."

"Yeah."

Asuka got a smile on her face and came up with an idea. "Come on let's watch a movie." she says.

Shinji didn't see any harm in it. His slight inebriation didn't help his judgment at all. Asuka came back to the short table in front of the television with chips, pretzels, and more beer. Shinji gave her an odd look. "Don't give me that." says Asuka. "We've already had some. Let's just have some fun."

"I think we're pushing it, Asuka."

"Don't be a chicken." Asuka teases. This was the kick in the pants he needed. He snatched at a beer and opened it. Defiant to her challenge. Asuka was pleased and used the remote to input the parental code. They watched a wild and sexually charged comedy. The choice of these salty snack proved to be a bad decision. It just caused them to thirst, and their tongues were now numb to the taste of liquor. Pen-pen looked at them, with his own beer and jerky, like he was making a mental note of all their activities.

Every few minutes Shinji would glance to Asuka. She was chugging down the beer as fast as Misato. Soon his gaze was fixed on the red head. Her eyes were starting to droop, and laughing way too hard at the simplest joke in the film. Shinji was chuckling, but not from the movie. "_She's looking pretty."_ he thinks. He was just noticing how cute she was when she laughed. His mind swimming with thoughts.

Asuka finally took notice that Shinji was staring. She got a goofy grin on her face. She says, "What are you… staring at…, Dork?", and tosses a pretzel at him.

He flinches and laughs, "Hey… d-don't throw stuff.". Seeing a challenge she grabbed the whole bowl and flung the contents. She fell back laughing.

Asuka runs her finger around the rim of the can. She says, "This stuff ain't 'alf bad once-".

"Once you loose all feeling in your mouth." Shinji says laughing, and Asuka joined in.

The movie was now forgotten, and they were finding entertainment in each other. They were talking and then Asuka says, slurring, "Youuu know what I 'ate about youuu?". Shinji seems confused by this statement. Asuka leans over the table and says, "You're 'air covers your EYES." She reaches out and brushes his hair away. "You 'ave those cute eyes and you cover them. It's - ANNOYING. Cut you hair."

"N-n-no!" he says. He plants his hands on his head like he was afraid she may jump over the table and start pulling the hair out with her bare hands.

"W-why not? I want you to." Asuka pleads.

"That's still n-no reason." he says.

Asuka drops her head to the table, taps her fingers, and stares at him. She looks like she's waiting for something to happen. Shinji takes a long draw from his beer, nearly falling backwards. "You know - I'm n-not gonna wait for you to ask, you know." she says.

Shinji looks like he just noticed she was there. "A-ask what?"

Asuka seems upset that he didn't already know the answer. "To ask me out on a REAL date, Dummkopf. If I waited for you to ask I'd be as old as Misato." Asuka looks up, and Shinji appears to be asleep. "ACHTUNG!" she hollars.

Shinji's head bolts up straight. "W-what! Hey, wasn't there a penguin in here? Who - who the hell owns a penguin?" Pen-pen was passed out on his favorite bean bag chair. A piece of jerky hanging from his beak.

Asuka kicks Shinji under the table. This finally catches his attention. Oddly, he barely felt it. She points at him and says, "Y-you're taking me out, S-stupid.".

"_That sounds like an order."_ he thinks.

Asuka takes note of his odd expression, her lip pouts. "You like me don't you?"

"Yes."

"So, what you complainin' 'bout?"

"No - no. Let's do it."

Asuka gave him a goofy grin. She reached over the table again and flicked him across the nose. "Not on the first date, Pervesling." She looks like she has an idea. She stands up, loses balance, and staggers into the kitchen. He hears her giggling and comes back in with red marks on her fingers. She crawls over the table, knocking the empty cans around, and relaxes.

Shinji looked deep into her hazy, blue eyes. He feels an pain of guilt. Her lips look so inviting. "I need to tell you something." He reaches out and takes her hand. She starts to blush. He continues, "At the ar-arcade. I didn't mean to make you angry. I-I just wanted you to be happy. You're soooo pretty when you angry. Er - I mean happy. Both both. You- you're cute when you're angry too."

"Yeah?" she sighs.

He nods his head. "Yeah. So-so you're cute a lot."

Asuka looks like this is the most romantic thing she has ever heard. She starts to go on a rambling sentence. He can't understand her, because she keeps shifting from his native language to German. What ever she is trying to say it seems very heartfelt. Mindlessly nodding his head just seems like the right thing do it.

Her lip quivers and she looks like she may just cry. She grabs his collar and pulls him to a kiss. A rather sloppy and unskilled kiss. She breaks the embrace, and his face is glowing red. Looking into his eyes she belches. She giggles clamping her hand over her mouth. Her first words are. "You're drunk, Ikari. Let's go to sleep." Asuka pulls out one of her hair bows and lets it fall to the floor. She pulled out the last one when she saw Shinji lean against the wall and falls on his butt. She couldn't contain her laughter. "HERE let me help you." she says, dropping to her knees between his open legs. Looking into his brown eyes she remembers all the sweet things he's been saying lately. She looses control again and kisses him, planting a few on his neck.

"Ohhhh, that tickles, Asuka." Shinji moans.

Asuka was able to help him to his feet and support him to his room. "Idiot, you can't sleep in your clothes." she says.

"Y-yes I can." he says, leaning against his dresser.

"Here look. I'm not." She pulls her shirt off dropping it on the floor. She is now wearing only her bra, skirt, panties, and a single sock. She walks up to Shinji and pulls his shirt off. He's too tired to resist. Even as she starts to fumble with his belt. Blood rushes to his head and he passes out. Asuka reaches out to catch him around the waist, and they both fall on his bed. "Ohhhh, my idiot." she moans.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaji walked in the front door of Misato's apartment. He's carrying several bags. Misato was right behind him. "Shinji. Asuka. I'm home!" says Misato. There is no reply. She walks into the apartment and notices the plates and left over food on the kitchen table. Pen-pen dashes to Misato and clings to her leg. "You alright, sweetie?" she says.

"Where do you want these?" asks Kaji, holding out all the bags in his arms.

"Just drop them in my room." Misato walks to Asuka's door. She knocks and gets no response. Opening the door her room is empty, bed made. "Huh. Guess she's already gone out." Kaji comes out of the room, and Misato starts gathering up the empty plates. Something doesn't feel right to Misato. She looks to Kaji and says, "Kaji, could you check on Shinji?"

"No problem." he says walking to Shinji's room.

She can hear Kaji calling at the door and she trips on an empty beer can. She lifts it and thinks, "_Did Pen-pen steal this?"_. She notices Asuka's hair bow on the floor. Glancing to the large calendar she sees, on two weeks from today, something is written in red marker and surrounded by a big heart. It says:

**First Date!**

"Uh. Misato?" says Kaji standing at Shinji's open door. His eyes fixed on the sight inside.

"Yeah."

"You remember how you were working on the kids being closer."

"Yeah, what of it?"

Kaji points into the room, still not looking away. "I - don't think that's going to be much of a problem now."

Confused Misato walks up to Kaji and looks to what he's pointing at. "AGHHHH!" Misato screams. She rushes into the room and stops by Shinji's bed. Kaji walks in a casual stride, but close behind her. Shinji is asleep on the bed, shirtless and his shorts around his knees. Asuka has her arms wrapped around his waist and is cuddled up to him like he is a huge teddy bear. She looked very happy. Both reeked of beer.

Misato is running in fingers through her hair frantically, and Kaji looks more bemused and bewildered. "Oh, MY GOD!" Misato says. "Are they DRUNK!" Misato starts pacing back and forth in Shinji's room. Pen-pen is still attached to her leg. The kids don't even twitch. "Oh, OH! This is BAD! This is soooo bad."

"_How can they sleep through all this screaming?_" Kaji thinks, as Misato goes into a panic.

"Why would they do THIS! HOW could they do this! I'm a horrible guardian!"

Kaji has a sly grin and says, "Well, at least one question is answered.".

Misato goes quiet and looks to her friend and lover for the words that will make this all okay. "Huh?"

He points down to the sleeping teens and says, "'Boxers or briefs?'". He gives a small chuckle.

Misato's blood goes to an instant boil. "THIS ISN'T A LAUGHING MATTER!" she yells. Asuka mumbles and just snuggles up to Shinji's midsection. This draws Misato's attention and she looks closer to Shinji. His face is expressionless, but the color on his lips stands out. "Is he wearing lips stick?" she says pointing.

Kaji leans in for a closer look and replies, "No… I think they were kissing. There's some on his cheeks and neck." He starts to laugh to himself.

Misato gives him a nasty look. "How can you be so CALM!"

"Well,… isn't this how we got together?"

Misato gives Kaji a slap. "What are you SAYING!" Misato screams, eye wild. "THIS is totally different. We were in college. They're FOURTEEN!" He rubs his sore cheek, and another thought comes to Misato as she remembers the other things her and Kaji did that first time. She slaps her hand over her eyes. "Ohhh, I hope they didn't do what we DID."

"I don't think so." he says. "Their pants are still on… mostly."

"Oh, Shut Up! You're No Help!"

"Shhh, You'll wake them." he says, smiling, and trying to calm her.

"This is just so wrong. How could they do something so STUPID as get themselves drunk and fool around like this? How IMMATURE could a person be? I swear."

Kaji is eyeing her with a silent, confused look. Before he can make a comment the phone in the apartment starts to ring. "I'll get it." he says. "That might be the pot calling." He calmly walks out. Misato looks to the comfortable teens and a devilish plan comes to mind. Kaji can be heard in the apartment answering the phone saying, "Hello, Kettle's Residence.".

A few minutes later Kaji peaks into the room. "That was Ritsu. She's doing some tests today and needs the kids." he says. "No rush. Just some time before five." Kaji waves his finger in the room. "And no I didn't tell her about THIS."

The last piece has just fallen into Misato's evil plan. A wicked grin comes to her lips. "Kaji, get my camera."

"Uh, why?" he says, unsure.

"I have a plan." she says.

"Is this something I'd rather not be an accessory to?" he says, brows raised.

Misato doesn't answer. She only smiles.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
To Be Continued...  
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	9. The Talk

**Essence of Shinji**

By: Kristoffer Remmell

Summary: Shinji is a natural even in cooking. Asuka, like in Evas, is determined to show him up. A funny story of Shinji and Asuka's relationship. Mild language and violence. A humorous story with subtle romance between Shinji and Asuka.

Category: Humor/Romance

Disclaimer: I hold no copyright over Neon Genesis Evangelion. That is held by GAINAX and Anno. I am writing this story as a fan of the series and for my own enjoyment.

Rating: T (minor coarse language, and some violence)

A/N: Now it's been some time since I updated this story. Long story really. I spent some time updating my art work. This past month my internet access has been horrible due out a blackout. There was a nasty storm and trees were blown down all over the city. Took forever for them to get to my neighborhood to check the local connection.  
To add on I'm also working on a commission. You may of heard of the Evangelion Fan Fic "After Impact". Well, the author of that story hired me to make some drawings for an audio manga. Basically, paid work comes before this stuff I do for fun. It makes writing a slow process.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know a lot are looking forward to this one after the way things ended in the last one. FYI: The events in the beginning of this chapter are roughly based on a real event. You also may notice I edited the last chapter and changed the date of the first date. I thought a two week punishment would be better.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Talk**

The digital clock slowly scrolled the digits as the minutes passed. The room had become much calmer since Kaji left. Shinji and Asuka were left in bed. The only sounds that filled the apartment were Asuka's sleepy mumblings and cooking in the kitchen. With the stove turned off Misato made her way to Shinji's room. Everything was in place. She had a pain of guilt as she looked down to the comfortable embrace the teens shared. It didn't last.

"Wake UP! Emergency!" Misato screamed at the absolute limit her vocal cords would allow. She had wanted to use a megaphone, but then she wouldn't have had her hands free to bash the large, metal spoon into the cooking pot. "WAKEY, WAKEY!"

Both the teens jumped as they were broken from their drunken stupor. Neither had the slightest idea where they even were. "Aghh!" Asuka jerked so violently as she woke up she ejected Shinji right out of the bed. Out of reflex he tried to get up, but with his shorts fallen to his ankles he merely tripped on them and landed face first into the floor.

As consciousness finally grabbed the two the sharp rapping of the bashing pot split their ears. They clamped their hands over their ears in a feudal attempt muffle the sounds Misato was creating. "Ahhh, Misato. Stop!" Shinji pleads.

"Stop! Stop it! Gott!" Asuka tossed in bed.

"So you can hear me!" Misato carelessly dropped the pot from her hand. The two screamed out in pain. "Now, both of you hurry up and get ready!"

"Stop Yelling!"

"Ohhh, Misatoooo."

"What! Who's yelling!" Misato knew very well after all that drinking they were sure to have one hell of a hangover. Every word must feel like a hammer on the temple. "Now get up! Oh, be sure to eat your breakfast!" Misato waved the two plates of greasy bacon and eggs into their faces.

The reactions were instant. A red headed flash bolted out of the room. Her hand covered her mouth. Shinji tripped and stumbled behind her. He made it to the bathroom door, but it was locked. The tight burning in his throat could not be mistaken. "L-let me in. Asuka!" He desperately beat on the door. "Please, I'm gonna-" He forces himself to swallow.

"Screw you!" Asuka cries out desperately, then the sound of gasping and a splash. The sound was unmistakable and set Shinji off. He couldn't wait. It was coming whether he liked it or not.

An idea came to him. "_The sink."_ Shinji stumbled into the kitchen and made it just in time to lose the contents of his stomach. The light hurt his eyes and his ears were splitting. The horrid flavor clung to his tongue, and his throat burned as he regurgitated the contents of his stomach. "What did I do?"

Misato came up from behind him. She pitied the poor child. She went through the very same thing the first time she drank. As well as some time three weeks ago. She grabbed the shorts from around his ankles and pulled them up to their proper position, buckling and zipping them in place. The water was turned on to wash the contents down the drain. Misato grabbed the nearby wash cloth and ran it under the cold water. She ran the damp cloth over Shinji's neck and tried to console him, gently rubbing his back as she convulsed and wept.

"I'm soo sorry."

"I know Shinji." she said in a soft voice. "But, the two of you will be a lot more sorry before this day is over." Misato could here Asuka in the bathroom. She was suffering through the same trauma Shinji was going through.

Ten minutes later all the sounds stopped. Misato led Shinji to the kitchen table. She walked to the bathroom door and gave several hard raps. "Asuka, get out here NOW!"

"I can't I-"

"I don't want to here it! OUT! NOW!" she paced out and waited.

Asuka came out with a washcloth to her forehead and her hair was a mess. She was still only wearing her bra, skirt and single sock. "Sit down!" Misato yells and the youths flinch. Asuka staggers to the chair next to Shinji, that Misato was pointing at. Both of the Eva pilots were sore sights. "I can NOT believe you two!"

"Please, don't yell." Asuka gave a week cry.

"My head."

"Well that's too BAD!" Misato was back to her constant screaming. "I can't believe you two actually thought you could get away with it!" She stayed silent for a few moments to let it all sink in. They had no response. Misato put the plates of bacon and eggs in front of them. "Now eat UP!"

"I can't." Asuka looked on the verge of throwing up again.

"Eat up now and every bite, and you better keep it down too!" Misato sipped her beer as she stood watching them eat bit by bit. The smell of grease was unbearable. It also didn't help that this was Misato's cooking.

They finished eating. Asuka pushed her empty plate away from her. She held her throat and looked like she wanted to cry. Shinji was close behind as he chewed his rough salty bacon. Once he swallowed Misato set her can down next to the digital camera on the table. "Now that you're both done it's time to discuss your punishment."

"What's the big deal we just drank too much?"

Misato glared at the German girl and watch her go silent. "Oh, you didn't do anything, huh!" She place her hands on the table and leaned in. "Then why is your lipstick all over Shinji's face!"

Asuka looked quickly to Shinji. Her color was over his lips, neck, and cheeks. Shinji was desperately trying to look down to his lips to see if there was any color. The evidence was clearly there for Asuka to see. Both started to glow as they blushed.

"I also have an informant." Misato stated as she pointed to the floor. Asuka and Shinji looked down to see Pen-Pen on the floor holding out his flippers and making a kissy face to the empty air he was holding. They both had hazy memories, but it was easy to tell what the bird was implying.

"He was drinking too." Asuka says defensively.

"Don't try and pin this on Pen-Pen!" There was a momentary silence in the room. "You both will be grounded for two weeks." Misato dropped her tone to make sure she was heard. Both looked up to their guardian. School was finally out and the idea of spending the next two weeks confined to the apartment didn't set well with either of them. "You will be doing all the household duties, bed by ten, and you only have five minutes to talk on the phone. On top of that you will be coming to my office to assist with my pile of paper work on Thursday."

Asuka's head may have be hiding under her hands, but she tried her best to look defiant. "And if we refuse?" Shinji looked surprised to Asuka.

"Asuka, she might double that." he tries to whisper.

Misato grinned and says, "I thought you'd say something like that.". She picked up the camera and examined the small display screen.. "That's why I made sure to get this." She set the camera right in front of Asuka. She studies the small screen, Shinji leans in to have a look as well, and it takes a few seconds for Asuka to grasp what she's seeing. A sudden gasp escapes her lips. Her chest sank and the air escaped her lips. She can't mistake that red hair. On the screen is a shot of Asuka in Shinji's bed. She's snuggled up to him. A very happy content smile graced her face.

Shinji was shocked silent. His eyes locked on the girl in his bed, and he wasn't wearing his pants. Asuka couldn't stay silent. "HOW DARE YOU!" The combination of standing and screaming just caused her to weep in pain and slowly drop back to her seat. "You're sick! How could to take pictures like that? What kind of sicko pervert are you?"

Misato pressed the scrolling button. "This one has to be one of my favorites. The image on the screen changed to a close up of Shinji's lipstick covered face. She picked up the camera to have a look herself. Shinji was in such shock he was just staring even though the camera was no longer on the table. His brain must have overloaded by now. "If you refuse to obey my order I'll be sure to have a few of these printed out. Wouldn't it just be 'embracing' if they happened to get around NERV headquarters or your friends?"

"You wouldn't." Asuka looked scandalized.

Misato was very serious in her reply. "Just try me." The red head gave in. She was ready to do anything to avoid the scandal those images could cause. "If you both behave I'll let you two off early for your big day."

"What?" Shinji and Asuka say in unison.

Misato gives a playful grin and points over to the large calendar. On the Friday two weeks from today the words "First Date!" was written in red marker and surrounded by a heart. Asuka only now noticed the red marker that was over her hands. She looked to Shinji and he looked back. The pain was gone, and they looked into each other eyes. It didn't last very long.

"Okay, enough of the lovey dovey stuff kids!" Misato was back to her constant screaming. "Both of you get dressed and ready to leave in five minutes! I need to get you to NERV ASAP!"

"But-" Shinji says.

"Hmm," Misato cuts him off and looked to her camera. "I wonder how long it would take to get this image printed on a t-shirt?"

Asuka bolted into her room and the constant German curses words followed her. Shinji also made his way to his room in a rush. He barely had enough time wash the color off his face. "Hurry up you slow poke!" Asuka shouted to urge him on. Holding her head and she braced herself from her own scream. Misato stood at the door, ready to leave, and counting down the seconds on her watch.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misato drove to NERV headquarters with the same lack of finesse that she usually used. High speeds and erratic turns. Only this time it was all on purpose. The radio was turns on to an unnecessary high volume. The pounding rock music was like a jackhammer to the teens heads. Both Shinji and Asuka sat in the backseat. Asuka laid down holding her head in Shinji's lap. Both clung to their heads and sporting sunglasses. It was a very bright sunny day. "Don't even THINK about puking in my car!" Misato demanded as she saw the look on Shinji's face in the rear view mirror.

Her car came to a sudden jarring stop. Misato got out and the other two groaned and more crawled from the backseat. Misato ended the loud noise campaign with slamming the car door shut in the parking lot causing an echo. Shinji collapsed and Asuka held her ears weeping. "Follow me. Ritsuko said it was important." says Misato.

The troop walked the halls on the way to the locker rooms when Ritsuko suddenly turned a corner. The surprise on her face was easy to read. "Misato?" says Ritsuko. Her eyes were distracted as Asuka and Shinji slumped past her like zombies. "Well, what are you doing here so early? Didn't Kaji tell you? You could of brought them in any time before five."

Asuka and Shinji came to a sudden stop. Shinji had a look or disbelief, but Asuka's was that of a weak rage. Misato returned their stares with a triumphant smile. "Off to the lockers now." she says in a sweet tone. "Stay there and wait for orders."

"I can't believe she did this." says Shinji.

"Bitch." Asuka grumbled under her breath.

Looking after the kids Ritsuko had to ask. "What's with those two?"

"Come on." says Misato. "I'll explain it on the way."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hyuga and Maya could hear the screams coming from just beyond the lab door. "Major Katsuragi! I can't believe you'd let them drink at their age." The voice was unmistakably Ritsuko Akagi. Both looked to the door and away from their work. Misato walked in with an enraged Ritsuko. She was holding her ear and leaning away from her friend. "I can NOT believe you could be so irresponsible to leave alcohol in the hands of minors! Don't you understand what could of happened!"

"Get off my back, Dr. Akagi! I didn't LET them do anything!" Misato hollered back, finally finding a break in her rant. "Nothing happened. I'm taking care of it." Both came to a stop when they noticed Maya and Hyuga were watching them. Misato exhaled in relief as. "God, I need some coffee."

"I'll get it." Hyuga says, jumping from his chair to the nearby table. "Anyone else?" Looking to the women in the room.

"Please." says Maya. Hyuga pours three cups of coffee and hands them out.

Misato goes back to the table to get more sugar. "So, what's this test all about? Synch test?" she says.

"No." replies Akagi. "We're looking to refine the manual aim of the Evas with the new rifles. It shouldn't take to long."

"Can we do the tests out in the GeoFront?" asks Misato.

"Well, yes we could, but it would take substantially longer. We will need to set up the dummy targets and move some equipment out side."

"Then lets do that then."

"Uh, Major?" says Maya. "Why do you want to do the tests outside of headquarters.?"

"Cause it's nice and bright outside." Misato grins as she sips her coffee. "Be sure Asuka and Shinji do as much of the work as possible."

"That could add another two hours to the tests, Major." says Hyuga.

"Oh, that's no problem at all. In fact I encourage it." Misato looks to Ritsuko. "Do we need to wait for Rei?"

"No she was already here. She showed up sober as well."

"Are you ever going to drop that?"

"Do I ever?"

Misato rolls her eyes and presses a button to activate the PA system in the locker rooms. She takes a deep breath and screams into the mic. "Pilots, report to your Evas immediately!" Everyone jumped from the screams.

"Okay everyone. Grab what you need and report to Central Dogma in ten minutes." says Ritsuko. The techs gathered their equipment and records. Misato walks out with Ritsuko.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Central Dogma staff watched over the monitors as Shinji, Rei, and Asuka, wearing their plug suits made their way to the entry plugs. Rei stopped and was talking with Shinji as he passed. Misato watched Asuka stumble in and called out to her through the speakers. "Asuka, lose the sunglasses." To everyone's surprise Asuka made no argument, but the desire for one was easy to see on her face when she pulled them off and handed them to the nearest technician.

"She didn't complain." Aoba says in total surprise.

"Not a word. How did you do that?" asks Ritsuko.

Misato whispers to her friend with glee, "I'll show you later.".

Five minutes later all the pilots were inside their entry plugs and synchronized. Having their lungs filled with LCL synchronization fluid had never been an enjoyable experience, but today for Asuka and Shinji it was a source of great discomfort. "Well, don't they look chipper this morning." says Kaji as he walks in.

"What're you doing here?" says Misato.

"Please, do you really think I'd miss this."

"So you're involved in this as well?" asks Ritsuko.

"Guilty." he answers with that coy smile.

Ritsuko shook her head in disbelief. "You two."

Hyuga broke in saying, "The Evas are ready for launch, Major."

"Thank you." Misato says. Kaji takes his place next to her. Misato examines the faces on the monitors and yells out her command, "Evas Launch!". The magnetic rails shot the Evas to the ground level of central dogma

The light shone through the plugs screens blinding Asuka and Shinji. "Agh." groans Shinji as he covers his eyes. When the final restraints were released Rei took her first steps to start setting up the cables for the test. Asuka's Unit-02 had to brace against the restraints. Shinji in Unit-01 stumbled and fell to the knee. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Asuka's question was unmistakably targeted to Misato.

"Asuka, stop your complaining." says Misato. "Take the rifles to Rei in Unit-00. Assist her in hooking them to the cables so we can make the adjustments." Looking to the monitor showing the nauseous boy. "Shinji?"

"I'm never drinking again." Shinji moans. A sudden understanding came to the staff of Central Dogma.

"Then you're learning. Now get on your feet and set up the targets. Hyuga will talk you through adjusting the equipment."

Kaji stood back with a grin as he watched the kids stumble around in their Evas. Misato couldn't hold back the occasional chuckle. Ritsuko just glared at them and shook her head. "You two. I swear." The rest of the staff did their best to hide their own amusement.

"So how was the trip, or do I not want to probe any further then I already know?" asked Ritsuko.

Misato was about to respond until Kaji cut in saying, "Well, speaking of 'probing'.". He was cut off by the sharp glare of Misato and a very disgusted, "Oh, shut it.". Rolling her eyes at how a man a year older then her could be so infantile. Ritsuko laughed watching them.

Rei was exceptional. She followed direction flawlessly and only needed to be told things once. Shinji had to be told his instructions at least three times. Asuka in a rush jumped a step and had to restart. Fifteen minutes later the tests were ready to proceed. Maya looked from her screen to Misato. "Major, everything is ready."

"Pilots take your positions!" Misato yelled louder then needed.

Shinji caused his Unit-01 to stumble, but Rei grab him by the arm and steadied him to his feet. "Are you alright?" Rei quietly asks.

"Uh, yeah. We… I made a stupid mistake." says Shinji. Rei says nothing in response.

Misato could see from the monitors on the screen Asuka was watching the two share this short conversation. Asuka didn't look at all pleased. Her blue eyes didn't move till the two parted and took their positions. "Okay, Doctor. They're all yours."

"Thank you, Major." Ritsuko took her place a step ahead of Misato. "I want you three to aim for the dead center on the targets in order. You must hold your aim as steady as possible for three minutes before moving to the next target in order. If you move too far off mark we will have to start again on the selected target." The groans of Asuka and Shinji moved over the intercoms. Rei positioned herself and took aim.

Due to the very specific nature of the tests, and condition of two of the pilots the tests didn't go well. Rei was finished right on time. She was long gone while Asuka was on target six. Shinji had just missed up his fifth attempt at target eight. "Asuka I said hold your target in the center. Be steady." chides Ritsuko who was getting more and more irritated with each failed attempt.

"I can't! That artificial light is too damn bright!"

"Asuka. " Misato chimes in. "Stop talking back and do as your told." Asuka went quiet, rubbed her eyes and took aim again.

Misato looked back as she heard Kaji leave laughing softly. "See you around ladies." he says. "Work to do."

Misato watched the kids struggle. Looking from the boy and girl. "Oh, Ritsuko. I'm going to have to do it."

Caught off guard Ritsuko looked to her friend in surprise. "'It'? What are you talking about?"

"You know. IT." says Misato. A calm worry could be read on her face.

Ritsuko was trying to think of what 'it' could possibly be. Her mind quickly went to the one word that Misato used the word 'it' to describe. "Misato, I do NOT want to hear about your personal life."

Shaken from this accusation Misato looks to her false blonde coworker. "Not that kind of IT. God."

"If you don't want me to imply things then get to your point."

"Well, with finding the kids like that. I'm going to have to give them 'The Talk'."

The understanding final came. "Ohhh. So - you really think you're up for that?"

"No. Got any tips?"

"Do you need a diagram?" she says joking.

"That I don't need." Misato chuckles. The mood lightened she starts to ask, "How did your mother handle it?".

Ritsuko didn't take her eyes off the screen. Her tone drops to ensure only Misato could hear this private conversation. "My mother… Our conversations never really covered personal matters."

"Oh." Right in Central Dogma Misato rest her head in her hand, and she closed her eyes to think. A minute later her eyes shot open. "I got it."

"Verdammt!" Asuka screams, as she loses her target and has to start over again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misato escorts the teens inside. Once out of the Evas Misato hardly gave them a minute alone. They have been under her close watch. Perhaps to avoid them making some kind of break for it. She pointed them inside. Misato was still carrying the plastic bag of objects she purchased on the stop to the convenience store. "Okay, both of you inside and sit at the table." Shinji and Asuka made their way to the kitchen table. Asuka was still wearing her sunglasses and holding her head. Misato set the bag down, poured two glasses of water, and set them before the kids. Misato took sodas and bottled waters from the bag and placed them in the fridge.

"Thanks." Shinji says, taking a long drink. Asuka didn't say anything, but the look on her face showed she was grateful for this act of kindness.

Misato stood at the opposite side of the table. She looked at them and reach into the bag. "I know by now the two of you had health classes so you should at least know the bare facts. Still, I don't think that's enough.

"What are you getting at?" asks Asuka.

Their guardian braced herself and got right to the point. "We're going to talk about SEX."

Asuka's sunglasses fell from her face, showing the surprise in her eyes. Shinji started choking on the water he was sipping at. As he coughed to remove the water from his lung Asuka spoke up. "I'm not going to talk about THAT!"

"You don't get a vote Asuka. You two have proven you can't be trusted alone. If you and Shinji are getting CLOSER I at least want to be sure you have the right information. I didn't have any adults to give me this information. I was lucky. I had a someone who helped when the time came."

"Kaji?" Asuka asks in a small voice.

Misato didn't respond. "Misato, I promise we wont try anything like that." Shinji pleads.

"I'm sorry Shinji, but I also never thought you'd be stupid enough to drink liquor like that. I'm really disappointed in the both of you."

Shinji says, "But Misato, there was a reason. If you'd just let us explain." Misato and Asuka were quietly impressed by Shinji speaking up. His tone may have been shaking, but the conviction was noticeable.

"I'll listen later, but right now you two will listen to me. This wont be easy for any of us." Asuka and Shinji shared a glance. This was just something they would have to suffer through. "First off. The only completely safe sex is NO SEX. No matter how many precautions you take things CAN and WILL go wrong."

"If we sit through this will we still be grounded for two weeks?" asks an already exhausted Asuka.

"Yes. Now don't interrupt. Unless you want me to lose my place and start all over again." Misato got the reaction she wanted from them. Asuka bit her lip and Shinji was to afraid to even move. The blood was rushing to his face.

"Lesson one is about condoms. These are not one hundred percent, but they are FAR better then nothing at all." She reaches into the plastic bag and sets the box on the table. Things were just getting more real by the second. "I'll now show you how these should be used." Misato opened the box as she talked. Asuka was now glowing as red as Shinji. Her mouth opened, but no sound escaped. Misato removed a wrapped condom from the box and pulled a cucumber from the plastic bag. With a condom in one hand and cucumber in the other Misato had a bemused grin on her face. She was getting far too much entertainment torturing these two. "You open the wrapping." Misato tore the condom wrapper with her teeth and removed the round latex. "Place the condom on the tip and gently roll down." As Misato talks she gently rolls her fingers down to surround the vegetable in the prophylactic. Shinji was swaying gently from side to side as he may pass out. Misato presented the covered cucumber. Proud of her demonstration. "That's how it's done." Asuka made a weak grunting sound.

"What is VERY important to good sex is fore play."

"Oh, Come ON!"

"M-Misato!"

"Quiet." Misato chirped in a playful tone. "Foreplay is performed through kissing, touching, and oral sex." A simulations groan came from the pair. "Foreplay is kind of like…. Uh, Christmas." The confused looks on their faces showed the absurdity to her of her own comparison. "No wait. That's not right. That's once a year. The point is about giving and receiving."

"Perversling" Asuka softly mumbles under her breath.

Misato looked right to Shinji. "Now Shinji. No matter what if a woman says , 'No'. You stop."

"_Yeah, like he'd ever have the guts to push anyone to do anything."_ thinks Asuka silently giggling.

"And Asuka." Misato calling her name got her attention. "If you're too aggressive you're just going to scare the boy, and he's going to think you're some kind of dominatrix." Shinji's silence was broken by a nervous laugh which he instantly regretted. He just stared at the glass of water to avoid the evil eye of the red head to his right.

"I think next we should talk about the kind of positions. I wasn't sure how I was going to talk about this so I got a magazine." Misato reached in the bag and pulled out a magazine that had an adults only warning on the cover and back. She flipped through the pages and showed these two an image. "This is a good example of one."

Asuka and Shinji screamed out in shock as they looked to the graphic image on the page. Misato took the magazine back and continued the flip through the pages. She showed them images when something caught her attention.

"This is another one."

"This can be really uncomfortable."

"Oh, this is my favorite."

"I NEVER want to find out you tried this."

On this image Shinji fell from his seat. "Asuka, help Shinji up. We still have a ways to go."

The talk went on for another fifteen minutes, more images, and several more props. Misato was pleased with her presentation, but was still emotionally exhausted. "God, I need a beer."

Misato walks away from the table. Shinji and Asuka are still in a state of utter shock. They are in totally sensory overload. Shinji gives Asuka a shy glance. It took her a minute to gather herself and notice. Asuka looks to the table and back to Shinji. "Don't even THINK about it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first week of their punishment was intolerable for Shinji and Asuka. Misato treated them both as indentured servants. They filed paperwork, cleaned the house, Pen-Pen's room, cooked dinner, washed clothes, and gave Misato back rubs and foot rubs. Shinji was the best at the foot rubs, but Misato took great pleasure in seeing the look on Asuka's face when she called her for her foot rub. Pen-Pen got into the act as well, waving his webbed foot before Asuka and Shinji. She never wanted this two weeks to end. The chore calendar, which normally would be a random selection of Misato, Shinji, and Asuka's names, was now absent one name for a two weeks stretch, Misato.

Misato had been out of the house for a few hours. Shinji had just finished up cleaning the bathroom, and he collapsed on the couch. "Done!" he groans.

Asuka relaxes on the floor, impatiently tapping her television remote on the coffee table. "I've had it with this crap." she says, slamming the remote on the table. Shinji looks up from his nap. "Shinji, it's time we put an end to this!"

"Huh?"

Asuka stands and pulls him from the couch. "I need you to watch my back."

"What are you talking about?"

Asuka opens the door to Misato's room. "You stand watch."

"Asuka, STOP!" he pleads. "If Misato comes home and finds you snooping in her room we'll get into more trouble."

"That's why your on WATCH, Idiot." She sneered. "Keep an eye out. If you hear her coming give a shout." Asuka disappears behind the sliding door.

Asuka looks around the room. Clothes scattered everywhere. It seems impossible how she can tell the clean from the soiled clothes. Asuka searched for the through a pile of clothes and couldn't find anything, then right on the table was her prize, the digital camera that contains the incriminating pictures. "_Too easy."_ she thinks. She grabs the camera and checks the view screen on the back.. A variety of pictures toggles by. Many look like vacation pictures. One picture catches her attention. A picture of Kaji from the back. Pressing the button again Asuka finds another picture of Kaji's back, but this one is a close up of his butt. She enjoys a shy moment on this image when she forces herself to keep looking. A few more images go by. She's getting impatient when something catches her eye. A picture of Misato. She has a triumphant, playful smile and holding a sign written in German. The sign translates simply to:

**Looking for this!**

Asuka zooms the view finder to see what Misato is holding in her free hand. A camera memory card. Pressing the button once more. The last picture on this card is another of Misato. Holding the same memory card and motioning as if dropping it into her pants.

Outside the room Shinji holds his guard. His eyes focused on the hallway leading to the front door. The silence is finally broken from a scream inside Misato's room. "VERDAMMT!"

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To Be Continued...  
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End file.
